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FOREIGN  COMMERCE  SERIES  •  Dumber  Four 


TRADING  WITH 
THE  FAR  EAST 

''By  OSCAR  P.  AUSTIN 


THE  NATIONAL  CITY  BANK 
OF  NEW  YORK 


>:,<»-•»-*> 
-.-     .     It'V 


Commerce  Series 


I -Trading  With  Our  Neighbors 
in  the  Caribbean. 
%  OSCAR  P.  AUSTIN 

II  -The  Function  of  Imports 
in  Our  Foreign  Trade. 
^y  GEORGE  E.  ROBERTS 

III  — Our  South  American  Trade 

and  Its  Financing. 
%  FRANK  O'MALLEY 

IV  -  Trading  With  the  Far  East. 

<By  OSCAR  P.  AUSTIN 

V-The  Development  of  Scandinavian 
American  Trade  Relations. 

^y  F.  C.  SCHWEDTMAN 
\ln  Preparation^ 


TRADING  WITH  THE 
FAR  EAST 


YOKOHAMA,  JAPAN 

BRANCH  OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL  BANKING 
CORPORATION 


TRADING  WITH 
THE  FAR  EAST 

^y  OSCAR  P.  AUSTIN 

Statistician 
THE  NATIONAL  CITY  BANK  OF  NEW  YORK  ". 


1920 

FOREIGN  COMMERCE  SERIES 

Dumber  Four 


H '  F 


BRANCHES  OF  THE  NATIONAL  CITY  BANK  OF  NEW  YORK 


ARGENTINA 
BUENOS  AIRES 
Sub-branch 
PLAZA  ONCE 
ROSARIO 

BELGIUM 

ANTWERP 
BRUSSELS 

BRAZIL 
BAHIA 

PERNAMBUCO 
PORTO  ,A LEG RE 
ifap  £>E:  JANEIRO 
S'AKTQS 
SAO  PAUL-O. 


'«HL£-  *.'.•' 

SANTIAGO 
VALPARAISO 

COLOMBIA 

BARRANQUILLA 

BOGOTA 

MEDELLIN 

CUBA 
ARTEMIS  A 
BAYAMO 
CAIBARIEN 


CAMAGUEY 
CARDENAS 

ClEGO    DE   AVILA 
ClENFUEGOS 

COLON 
CRUCES 
GUANTANAMO 
HAVANA 

Sub-branch 

CUATRO  CAMINOS 

Sub-branch 

GALIANO 
MANZANILLO 
MATANZAS 
NUEVITAS 

PlNAR   DEL   RlO 

PLACETAS  DEL  NORTE 

REMEDIOS 

SAGUA  LA  GRANDE 

SANCTI  SPIRITUS 

SANTA  CLARA 

SANTIAGO 

UNION  DE  REYES 

YAGUAJAY 

ENGLAND 
LONDON— (WEST  END 
BRANCH) 

ITALY 
GENOA 


PERU 
LIMA 

PORTO  RICO 
PONCE 
SAN  JUAN 

RUSSIA 
*Moscow 
*PETROGRAD 

SOUTH  AFRICA 
CAPE  TOWN 

SPAIN 
BARCELONA 
MADRID 

TRINIDAD 
PORT  OF  SPAIN 

URUGUAY 

MONTEVIDEO 
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CALLE  RONDEAU 

VENEZUELA 

CIUDAD  BOLIVAR 

CARACAS 

MARACAIBO 

*  Temporarily  closed 


BRANCHES  OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL  BANKING  CORPORATION 


CALIFORNIA 

SAN  FRANCISCO 

CHINA 
CANTON 
HANKOW 
HARBIN 
HONGKONG 
PEKING 
SHANGHAI 
TIENTSIN 
TSINGTAO 

ENGLAND 
LONDON 

FRANCE 
LYONS 


INDIA 
BOMBAY 
CALCUTTA 
RANGOON 

JAPAN 
KOBE 
YOKOHAMA 

JAVA 
BATAVIA 
SOERABAYA 

DOMINICAN 
REPUBLIC 

BARAHONA 
PUERTO  PLATA 
SANCHEZ 
SAN  PEDRO  DE 
MACORIS 


SANTIAGO  DE  LOS 
CABALLEROS 

SANTO  DOMINGO 
CITY 

PHILIPPINE 
ISLANDS 

CEBU 
MANILA 

REPUBLIC  OF 

PANAMA 
COLON 
PANAMA 

STRAITS    SETTLE- 
MENTS 
SINGAPORE 


Trading  with  the  Far  East 

By  OSCAR  P.  AUSTIN 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  commerce  of  the  Far  East  doubled 
in  value  during  the  period  1914-20  while  its  trade  with  the 
United  States  sextupled  in  the  same  period.  It  bought  from 
the  United  States  $  125,000,000  worth  of  our  products  in  the  year 
before  the  war  and  $850,000,000  worth  in  the  fiscal  year  1920,  and  we 
bought  from  it  in  turn  $250,000,000  worth  in  1914  and  $1,350,000,000 
worth  in  1920.  Our  1920  sales  to  the  Far  East  are  six  times  as  much  as 
in  1913  and  our  purchases  therefrom  five  times  as  much  as  in  1913. 

The  term  "Far  East"  is  one  that  is  quite  generally  used  to  indicate  X|  ^^ 
a  very  indefinite  section  of  territory.  Most  writers  do  not  include  in  the 
"Far  East"  India,  Burma  or  Ceylon.  As  a  matter  of  geographic  con- 
venience, however,  and  for  the  purposes  of  this  study,  India,  Burma 
and  Ceylon  are  included.  In  this  book,  therefore,  the  term  "Far  East'* 
shall  be  construed  to  embrace  that  densely  populated  coastal  region 
stretching  along  the  southern  and  eastern  frontage  of  Asia,  from 
western  India  to  northern  Japan  and  western  Siberia. 

Asia  as  a  whole  has  one-third  of  the  world's  land  area  and  over  one- 
half  of  its  population.  It  stretches  7,000  miles  eastward  from  the 
Dardanelles  to  within  45  miles  of  our  Alaskan  coast  and  5,000  miles 
northward  from  the  Indian  Ocean  to  the  Arctic.  While  its  enormous 
desert  and  mountainous  interior  lie  from  15,000  to  29,000  feet  above 
sea  level,  nine-tenths  of  its  875,000,000  people  are  massed  on  that 
narrow  frontage  of  fertile  land  running  along  the  ocean  from  India 
to  Japan,  most  of  them  living  within  1,000  miles  of  the  ocean  and  less 
than  2,000  feet  above  its  level.  They  originate  and  conduct  practically 
all  the  commerce  of  the  Asiatic  continent  and  their  international  trade 
has  grown  from  $4,000,000,060  in  1913  to  $8,000,000,000  in  1919,  and 
that  with  the  United  States  alone  from  $375,000,000  in  1913  to  $2,200,- 
000,000  in  our  fiscal  year  1920. 

Of  Intense  Interest  to  Occidental  Man 

THE  Far  East  has  always  been  an  area  of  intense  interest  to 
Occidental  man.  In  the  six  hundred  years  since  Marco  Polo,  from  his 

[5] 
£47417 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


prison^  ceUriri  Genoa,  told  the  astonished  world  of  his  experiences 
in?  the -l&nd^of  Kublai  Khan,  Occidental  man  has  never  ceased  to  ex- 
:hrbtt  :his  interest  in  that  dense  mass  of  industrious  people  occupying 
^t$te  eastern  frontage  of  that  great  continent,  and  which  has  through 
all  these  years  retained  the  title  then  given  it,  the  "Far  East",  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  great  land  mass  which  geographers  designate  as 
Asia,  which  occupies  82%  of  the  great  Eurasian  continent,  while 
Europe's  share  of  that  continent  is  but  18%. 

The  terms  "Asia"  and  "Europe",  applied  by  the  Phoenicians  and 
later  by  the  Greeks  to  the  sections  occupying  respectively  the  areas 
at  the  east  and  the  west,  were  intended  only  as  general  designations 
for  those  respective  sections;  but  have  been  retained  as  their  perma- 
nent geographic  names,  while  the  general  title  now  given  by  geogra- 
phers to  the  Great  Continent  comprising  both  Europe  and  Asia  is 
"Eurasia".  Its  area,  combining  the  two  sections  which  we  call  Europe 
and  Asia,  is  21,000,000  square  miles,  or  40%  of  the  land  surface  of  the 
world,  and  its  population  1,350,000,000,  or  75%  of  that  of  the  entire 
globe.  The  boundary  between  Asia  and  Europe  as  generally  accepted 
by  geographers  is  the  Ural  Mountains  and  River,  at  the  north,  the 
Caspian  Sea,  the  Caucasus  Mountains,  the  Black  Sea,  and  the  Dar- 
danelles. 

Interior  Sparsely  Settled 

THE  interior  of  the  Asiatic  continent,  lying  behind  the  narrow 
and  densely  populated  coastal  region  running  along  the  Indian  and 
Pacific  oceans,  consists  of  deserts  and  semi-deserts  in  the  central  part, 
frozen  tundras  at  the  extreme  north,  and  at  the  south  great  mountain 
ranges  whose  enormous  areas  and  extreme  altitude  have  given  to  a 
certain  section  thereof  the  title  of  "The  Roof  of  the  World."  This 
great  interior,  which  lies  at  an  average  level  of  about  15,000  feet  above 
the  sea,  receives  littj^jnoisture  from  the  oceans,  and  is  at  the  best  but 
sparsely  populated,  Mongolia  averaging  little  more  than  one  person 
per  square  mile,  Chinese  Tuckestan  two  per  square  mile,  Siberia  two 
per  square  mile,  and  Tibet  four  per  square  mile. 

In  these  vast  interior  areas,  with  their  drifting  sands  and  extremes 
of  cold  and  heat,  the  scant  population  derives  its  subsistence  from  its 
herds  of  domestic  animals  and  a  limited  agriculture;  while  in  the 
narrow  fringe lilbng  the  ocean  frontages,  India,  Ceylon,  the  Malayan 
Peninsula,  Siam,  Indo-China,  China,  Korea,  Japan,  the  Philippines 

[6] 


POPULATION 


and  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  Soopoo^goo  people  live  on  one-fifth  of 
the  land  area  of  the  continent,  most  of  them  within  a  few  hundred 
miles  of  the  ocean  which  connects  them  with  the  800,000,000  of 
Occidentals  occupying  Europe,  the  Americas,  Australasia,  and  South 
Africa.  / 

^  v/ 

The  Thickly  Populated  Section/ 

IN  this  thickly  populated  section  of  Asia  which  we  here  desig- 
nate as  the  "Far  East",  the  density  of  population  is  in  striking  con- 
trast with  that  of  the  interior  of  the  continent.  India  has  an  average 
population  .ofLi^  per  square  mile,  and  certain  of  its  provinces  over 
500  per  square  mile;  China  proper,  an  average  of  ?.no  per^square  mile, 
and  in  some  of  the  provinces  over  400  per  square  mile;  Japan,  400  per 
square  mile,  and  Java,  680  per  square  mile.  In  India,  China  proper, 
Japan  and  Java,  with  a  combined  area  of  3,500,000  square  miles  (or 
about  equal  to  the  United  States  including  Alaska),  there  is  an  aggre- 
gate population  of  700,000,000,  the  average  per  square  mile  being  200 
against  an  average  of  2  per  square  mile  in  the  great  Asiatic  interior. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  our  interest  in  Asia  centers 
chiefly  in  the  half  dozen  countries  fringing  its  southeast  ocean  front- 
age. The  lands  which  they  occupy,  lying  between  the  ocean  and  the 
greatly  elevated  interior,  have  rich  soils  supplied  in  past  ages  from  the 
elevated  areas  further  inland,  and  lie  but  a  few  hundred  feet  above 
the  ocean  levels,  while  the  great  interior  behind  the  mountain  barrier 
which  separates  the  low  lands  from  the  heart  of  the  continent  lies 
from  10,000  to  20,000  feet  above  the  ocean. 

The  Regions  Rainfall 

THE  upward  movement  of  the  air  above  the  intensely  heated 
area  of  the  interior  in  summer  and  the  partial  vacuum  thus  produced 
cause  an  inflow  of  air  from  the  surrounding  oceans  which  conies 
heavily  charged  with  moisture  evaporated  from  the  sea  in  the  tropical 
and  sub-tropical  areas  at  the  south  and  southeast.  These  air  currents, 
bearing  all  the  moisture  that  air  can  carry,  and  forced  upward  as  they 
cross  the  land  areas  fronting  on  the  ocean,  are  condensed,  and  dis- 
charge most  of  their  moisture  in  the  form  of  rains,  thus  giving  to  this 
comparatively  nairiiw--soiitliem_ilid_fiastern  Asiatic  frontage  a  suffi- 
cient water  supply_ta  render  it  fruitful.  But  on  the  other  hand  the 
small  quantity  of  moisture  remaining  in  the  air  after  it  passes  into  the 

[7] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


interior  is  insufficient  to  supply  to  that  part  of  the  continent  a  rain- 
fall adequate  for  producing  enough  vegetation  to  maintain  any  con- 
siderable population.  The  summer  "monsoons,"  which  bring  rains  to 
all  the  southern  and  southeastern  parts  of  Asia  from  India  eastward, 
are  composed  of  air  currents  thus  drawn  from  the  Indian  Ocean  where 
the  evaporation  is  very  great,  while  the  air  currents  which  reach  the 
northeastern  frontage  of  the  continent  are,  in  part,  those  which  blow 
westwardly  across  the  tropical  areas  of  the  Pacific  just  north  of  the 
equator,  and,  swinging  northward  along  the  coasts  of  China  and  Japan 
render  a  similar  service  in  supplying  a  reliable  rainfall  to  the  lands 
lying  between  the  Pacific  frontage  and  the  great  mountain  ranges  of 
the  hinterland. 

It  is  this  combination,  a  reliable  rainfall  due  to  great^natural  causes, 
a  fertile  soil  supplied  in  past  ages  from  the  elevated  interior,  and  a 
climate  ranging  from  temperate  at  the  north  to  tropical  at  the  south, 
that  have  made  this  great  coastal  region  from  western  India  to  north- 
ern Japan  the  most  densely  populated  region  of  the  globe.  The  perma- 
nent character  of  these  natural  causes  assures  a  like  permanency  of 
the  result — a  densely  populated  area  with  great  producing,  consum- 
ing, and  therefore  commercial  power. 

Bulk  of  Population  on  Coast 

NJI^E-TENTHS  of  the  population  of  the  great  continent  of  Asia 
•  is  packed  into  this  comparatively  narrow  belt  of  land  adjacent  to  the 
ocean,  while  the  remaining  one-tenth,  scattered  over  the  great  and 
comparatively  arid  interior,  produces4ittl€-iri__excess  of  its  immediate 
requirements  and  has  but  inadequate  facilities  for  transportation  of 
any  surplus  which  it  may  have,  or  power  to  purchase  and  import  the 
products  of  other  parts  of  the  world.  In  the  interior,  the  human  porter, 
the  domestic  animals,  and  the  camel  caravan  are  the  chief  facilities  of 
transportation,  while  in  the  areas  fronting  upon  the  oceans,  the  rivers, 
canals,  and  slowly  developing  railway  facilities  bring  the  busy  popula- 
tion into  touch  with  the  oceans  and  with  the  ships  which  transport 
the  region's  natural  products  to  other  parts  of  the  world  and  bring 
manufactures  in  exchange. 

Relation  of  Transportation  to  Commerce 

THESE  facilities  of  land  transportation  in  these  densely  popu- 
lated sections  are  however  still  far  from  satisfactory,  though  the  ad- 

[8] 


WORLD  S  NEED  FOR  FAR  EAST  S  PRODUCTS 


vantages  which  they  respectively  supply  to  commerce  are  shown  by\     / 
the  fact  that  the  particular  sections  having  the  greatest  railway  mile-  1  V 
age    per    thousand  square  miles  have  also  the  greatest  commerce/ 
Japan,  with  55  miles  of  railway  for  each  1,000  square  miles  of  area, 
has  a  foreign  trade  of  about  $30  per  capita;  India,  with  about  20 
miles  of  railway  for  each  1,000  square  miles  of  area,  has  a  foreign  com- 
merce of  about  $5  per  capita;  and  China  proper  (exclusive  of  her  great 
interior  provinces)  has  about  5  miles  of  railway  per  1,000  square  miles 
of  area,  greatly  aided  by  her  wonderful  canal  systenv,  and  a  foreign 
commerce  of  about  $3  per  capita. 

World  Needs  the  Far  East's  Products 

THAT  this  comparatively  small  per  capita  of  commerce  in  these 
Asiatic  countries,  now  insufficiently  supplied  with  transportation,  will 
greatly  increase  with  the  development  of  railways  and  other  facilities 
for  movement  of  merchandise  is  quite  apparent  when  it  is  considered 
that  they  are  the  chief  producers  of  certain  great  wjarkUequirements  N        / 
for  food  and  industries,  including  the  raw  sjlJts  of  China  and  Japan;  J  \f 
the  jute  of  India;  t-hp  hpmj^njj-hp  philippvnpsj  fhp  teas  of  lapan,  China,  / 
Java  and  India;  the  r-SEber  of  the  Malayan  Peninsula  and  the  Dutch/ 
East  Indies;  the  food  oils  of  Manchuria,  Philippines,  and  the  Pacific 
Islands  further  south;  the  sugar  of  Java;  and  the  tia,of  the  Dutch  East 
Indies  and  the  Malayan  Peninsula.  All  of  these  important  products 
the  Occidental  world  must  have  in  increasing  quantities  while  the  fact 
that  most  of  the  800,000,000  people  in  the  Far  East  rely  for  their 
manufactures  chiefly  upon  the  Occident  indicates  the  importance  of 
that  market  to  the  United  States,  the  greatest  manufacturer  of  the 
world  and  in  recent  years  the  greatest  exporter  of  manufactures. 

Purchasing  Power  Increasing  / 

THE  purchasing  power  of  the  Far  East  has  enormously  in-1 
creased  in  very  recent  years.  Practically  all  of  its  exportable  products 
advanced  in  price  following  the  opening  of  the  war,  some  of  them  very 
largely,  and  were  greatly  in  demand  even  at  the  much  higher  price, 
and,  as  a  consequence,  the  value  ofjthe  merchandise  exported  doubled 
in  the  period  1913-1919,  while  the  actual  purchases,  the  Imports, 
showed  a  corresponding-  gain.  The  total  value  of  exports  from  the 
dozen  principal  countries  included  in  the  "Far  East"  group  was,  in 
1913,  a  little  over  $2,000,000,000,  and  in  1919  over  $4,000,000,000, 

[9] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


while  their  imports  grew  from  $2,200,000,000  in  1913  to  nearly 
$4,000,000,000  in  1919. 

Not  only  did  the  trade  of  the  Far  East  double  during  the  war  period, 
but  our  own  share  in  that  trade  was  greatly  enlarged.  China,  for  ex- 
ample, whose  imports  in  1913  were  $427,000,000,  took  6%  of  that 
total  from  the  United  States,  while  in  1918  her  imports  were  $662,- 
000,000  and  she  took  from  us  io}^%  of  that  greatly  enlarged  total. 
British  India,  which  took  only  2.6%  of  her  imports  from  the  United 
States  in  1914,  took  8%  of  her  1918  imports  from  us;  the  Dutch  East 
Indies  doubled  the  percentage  of  their  imports  which  were  drawn  from 
the  United  States;  and  Japan,  which  took  16 . 8%  of  her  imports  from 
the  United  States  in  1913,  took  37.8%  of  the  greatly  enlarged  total 
of  1918. 

A  study  of  our  own  trade  figures  with  the  countries  in  question 
gives  a  further  evidence  that  the  share  which  we  have  of  their  .trade 
has  greatly  increased  during  and  since  the  war  period.  While  the  im- 
ports of  the  dozen  countries  and  islands  which  we  here  class  as  the  Far 
East,  doubled  during  the  war  period — our  own  exports  to  them  grew 
from  $125,000,000  in  1913  to  $850,000,000  in  the  year  ending  June  30, 
1 920.  To  no  part  of  the  world  have  our  exports  shown  as  large  a  per- 
centage of  gain  as  those  to  the  Far  East.  Our  own  exports  to  the  dozen 
countries  in  question  equalled  about  6%  of  their  aggregate  imports  in 
1913,  and  approximately  15%  in  the  fiscal  year  1919. 

What  the  Far  East  Has  to  Sell 

THE  Far  East  produces  and  offers  for  sale  many  articles  which 
we  of  the  Occident,  and  especially  we  of  the  United  States,  must  buy, 
and,  in  most  cases,  must  buy  them  from  the  Far  East  for  this  section 
produces  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  marketable  surplus  of  Asia 
and  acts  as  the  exporter  of  the  few  articles  produced  for  the  world 
markets  in  the  interior  of  the  continent.  The  principal  articles  which 
the  Orient  supplies  to  the  Occident,  practically  all  of  them  produced 
in  or  marketed  by  the  Far  East,  are: 

\  For  Manufacturing  Purposes — Raw  silk,  wool,  cotton  in  limited 
quantities  (for  strange  as  it  may  appear,  we  of  the  United  States  are 
now  buying  raw  cotton  from  India  and  China),  kapok,  hgjmp,  jute, 
india-rubber,  furs,  tin,  copper,  platinum,  hides  and  skins  and  gums. 

*,        For  Food  Purposes — Vegetable  oils,  cogra  (from  which  food  oil  is  pro- 

[10] 


AMERICA  S  IMPORTS  FROM  FAR  EAST 


duced),  tea,  coffee,  cacao,  sugar,  spices,  rice,  sago,  tapioca,  fruits,  nuts. 

Manufactures — Jute  bagging,  matting,  silk  textiles,  laces,  embroidery 
and  many  other  articles  of  this  character. 

In  exchange  for  these  natural  products  exported  by  the  Far  East, 
it  takes  manufactures,  foodstuffs  and  a  limited  quantity  of  manu- 
facturing material,  chiefly  cotton.  Among  the  more  important  of 
its  imports  are  cotton  goods,  of  which  the  United  States  is  probably 
the  world^  largest  producer  and  a  considerable  exporter,  though 
our  exports  in  that  line  are,  or  course,  far  below  those  of  Great 
Britain  which  buys  its  raw  cotton  chiefly  from  us;  woolen  goods,  cloth- 
ing, boots  and  shoes;  also  manufactures  of  iron  and  steel  of  all  kinds, 
automobiles,  cars  and  other  land  vehicles,  machinery,  railway  material 
and  supplies,  petroleum  in  all  its  grades  of  manufacture,  tobacco  and. 
cigarettes,  coal,  flour  and  sugar.  Manufactures  of  various  sorts 
form  probably  three-fourths  of  the  value  of  the  merchandise  im- 
ported into  the  countries  in  question,  except  in  the  case  of  Japan 
which  imports  large  quantities  of  raw  cotton,  in  part  from  the 
United  States  and  in  part  from  India  and  China. 

United  States  Welcomes  Imports  from  Region 

ALL  of  the  twenty-five  articles  heretofore  enumerated,  which 
form  the  bulk  of  the  exports  of  the  Far  East,  are  greatly  in  demand  in 
the  United  States.  Practically  all  of  the  $450,000,000  worth  of  raw 
silk  which  we  imported  in  1920  was  drawn  from  the  Orient,  as  was 
also  a  large  proportion  of  the  silk  textiles  imported,  which  totaled 
$88,000,000.  Of  our  india-rubber  imports,  aggregating  approximately 
$275,000,000  in  the  fiscal  year  1920,  over  $250,000,000  worth  came 
from  the  Far  East;  of  the  $375,000,000  worth  of  hides  and  skins  im- 
ported nearly  one-half  was  from  the  Orient  and  mostly  from  that 
extreme  section  which  we  denote  the  Far  East;  and  of  the  $150,000,000 
worth  of  vegetable  oils  imported  in  the  fiscal  year  1920,  practically  all 
came  from  the  Far  East.  Of  the  $90,000,000  worth  of  tin  imported, 
three-quarters  came  from  the  Malayan  peninsula  and  Dutch  East 
Indies,  while  of  the  items  of  lesser  importance  such  as  spices,  rice,  jute, 
Manila  hemp,  kapok,  gums,  tea  and  matting,  practically  all  were  pro- 
duced in  and  drawn  from  the  Far  East. 

In  fact,  we  imported  in  the  fiscal  year  1920  over  2}^  billion  dollars 
worth  of  the  classes  of  material  heretofore  enumerated  as  the  chief 
exports  of  the  Far  East,  though  in  certain  of  them  such  as  sugar,  raw 

EH] 


TRADING  WITH  THE   FAR  EAST 


cotton,  wool  and  coffee,  a  large  proportion  of  our  imports  were  drawn 
from  other  parts  of  the  world.  Our  total  imports  from  the  Far  East 
in  the  fiscal  year  1920,  which  amounted  in  value  to  $1,350,000,000 
were  composed  in  great  part  of  the  25  articles  enumerated.  The  fact 
that  we  are  buying  so  heavily  from  the  Far  East  justifies,  it  seems, 
'  a  much  closer  examination  of  the  chief  products  entering  into  the 
region's  export  trade. 

THE  FAR  EAST'S  PRODUCTS 

Raw  Silk 

JAPAN  and  CHINA  are  the  world's  principal  producers  of  raw 
silk,  and  supply  practically  all  of  that  imported  by  the  United  States. 
Latest  available  figures  show  the  annual  exports  of  raw  silk  from 
Japan  53,000,000  pounds,  China  15,000,000,  and  the  production  of 
Italy  7,000,000  pounds,  and  all  the  remainder  of  the  world  about 
3,000,000.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  figures  relative  to  Japan  and  China 
are  those  of  exports  only  and,  therefore,  do  not  include  the  very  large 
quantities  used  in  the  manufacture  of  silk  goods  in  those  countries, 
estimated  at  about  one-half  as  much  as  the  exports. 

Our  own  imports  of  raw  silk  in  the  fiscal  year  1920  were,  47,000,000 
pounds  valued  at  $438,000,000  and  of  this  about  $320,000,000  worth 
was  drawn  from  Japan,  and  about  $80,000,000  worth  from  China. 

Japan's  raw  silk  output  is  usually  estimated  at  about  3/5  of  the 
world's  supply,  and  the  United  States  is  normally  accredited  with 
using  over  %  of  the  world's  total  production.  In  fact,  we  are  probably 
now  using  about  60%  of  the  world's  raw  silk  and  drawing  9/10  of  it 
from  the  Far  East.  As  we  produce  no  raw  silk  in  the  United  States,  we 
shall  always  be  dependent  upon  the  Far  East  for  this  important  and 
rapidly  increasing  factor  in  our  industries,  except  in  such  degree  as 
we  may  produce  artificial  silk,  a  comparatively  new  industry  and 
promising  a  rapid  development,  but  not  likely,  for  many  years  at 
least,  to  take  the  place  of  raw  silk  in  our  manufacturing  industries. 

India-rubber 

CRUDE  RUBBER  is  one  of  our  most  important  imports  for  manu- 
facturing purposes,  and  a  very  large  proportion  of  this  is  drawn  from 
the  Far  East.  The  Malayan  peninsula,  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  and  in  a 
lesser  degree  Ceylon  and  India,  are  now  the  world's  great  rubber  pro- 

[12] 


THE  FAR  EAST  S  PRODUCTS 


ducers,  their  plantations,  established  a  decade  before  the  war  period, 
having  come  into  active  use  as  the  source  of  world  rubber  within  the 
last  eight  years. 

Of  our  own  imports  of  rubber,  which  amounted  to  about  630,000,000 
pounds  valued  at  $275,000,000  in  the  fiscal  year  1920,  about  350,000,- 
ooo  pounds  were  drawn  from  the  Malayan  peninsula,  about  75,000,000 
pounds  from  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  and  approximately  100,000,000 
from  the  United  Kingdom  which  had  imported  it  from  her  Far  East 
possessions  and  passed  it  along  to  the  United  States.  So  it  may  be 
said  that  of  the  650,000,000  pounds  of  rubber  imported  into  the  United 
States  in  1920,  nearly  600,000,000  pounds  originated  in  the  Far  East, 
and  for  it  we  paid  in  cash  or  merchandise  about  $250,000,000. 

The  United  States  is  said  to  use  three-fourths  of  the  world's  rubber. 
As  we  produce  none  in  continental  United  States,  and  at  present  but 
a  comparatively  small  quantity  in  our  tropical  islands,  we  are  and 
shall  be  for  many  years — probably  permanently — dependent  in  a 
very  large  degree  upon  the  Far  East  for  our  supply.  In  fact,  the  only 
section  outside  of  the  Far  East  which  now  supplies  rubber  in  any 
considerable  quantities  is  Brazil,  and  her  total  output  at  the  present 
time  is  less  than  15%  of  the  world  production. 

/  Hides  and  Skins 

IN  that  important  factor  in  our  industries,  hides  and  skins,  we 
rely,  in  larger  degree  than  is  usually  recognized,  upon  the  Far  East. 
Our  importation  of  goat  skins  alone  in  the  fiscal  year  1920  amounted 
to  $120,000,000  in  value,  and  of  this  $40,000,000  worth  was  drawn 
from  India,  $2o,ooOjOoo  worth  from  China,  about  $5,000,000  worth 
from  the  British  East  Indies,  and  $5,000,000  worth  from  other  parts 
of  the  distant  East.  Of  cattle  hides,  $10,000,000  worth  came  from 
the  Orient;  calf  skins  $12,000,000  worth;  buffalo  hides  from  India 
$3,000,000;  sheep  skins  a  couple  of  millions.  These  figures  indicate 
that  we  are  compelled  to  rely  upon  the  Far  East  for  over  $100,000,000 
worth  of  hides  and  skins  annually,  for  use  in  our  manufacturing  indus- 
tries at  home,  and  that  the  bulk  of  this  comes  out  of  India  and  China. 
\J 
Cotton  , 

THE  phenomenon  of  a  country  which  produces  two-thirds  of 
the  cotton  of  the  world,  bringing  millions  of  dollars  of  that  article 
halfway  round  the  globe  and  across  the  greatest  ocean  of  the  world, 

[13] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


is  an  interesting  one,  despite  the  fact  that  the  actual  quantity  of 
cotton  which  we  bring  from  China  and  India  is  materially  less  than 
that  imported  from  Egypt,  the  other  source  of  cotton  supply.  Our  im- 
ports of  raw  cotton  from  China,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  amounted 
in  1920  to  25,000,000  pounds  valued  at  about  $7,000,000  and  from 
India  about  6,000,000  pounds  valued  at  over  $  1,000,000  —  not  a 
large  quantity  or  value,  to  be  sure,  as  compared  with  our  own  crop, 
or  even  that  which  we  bring  from  Egypt,  amounting  in  value  in  1920 
to  about  $135,000,000.  The  quantity  brought  from  China  and  India 
is,  however,  steadily  increasing  and  illustrates  the  diversity  of  articles 
which  we  are  drawing  from  that  section,  and  our  increased  willingness 
to  purchase  a  great  variety  of  the  products  which  those  countries 
place  upon  world  markets. 


FOR  the  tin  used  in  our  progressive  tinplate  and  other  indus- 
tries requiring  that  metal,  we  have  been  entirely  dependent  upon  the 
Far  East  until  the  establishment  in  the  United  States  about  five  years 
ago  of  refining  works  which  could  utilize  Bolivian  ore.  £  very  large 
proportion,  however,  of  the  $90,000,000  worth  of  tin  imported^n  the 
fiscal  year  1920  came  from  the  Far  East;  $45,000,000  worth  of  it  came 
from  the  Straits  Settlements,  $5,000,000  worth  from  the  Dutch  East 
Indies,  nearly  $2,000,000  from  Hongkong,  while  our  South  American 
neighbor,  Bolivia,  supplied  about  $19,000,000  worth  in  the  form  of 
tin  ore  which  was  transformed  into  pig  tin  in  this  country. 

We  have  brought  into  the  United  States  in  the  last  decade  over 
$500,000,000  worth  of  pig  tin,  drawn  almost  exclusively  from  the  Far 
East,  chiefly  the  Malayan  peninsula  and  the  Dutch  East  Indies. 
There  seems  no  prospect  that  we  shall,  for  many  years  at  least,  pro- 
duce any  tin  ore  in  the  United  States.  So  here  again  we  are  dependent 
chiefly  upon  the  Orient,  and  in  a  lesser  degree  our  South  American 
neighbor,  Bolivia. 

' 


OF  our  tea,  of  which  the  importations  in  the  last  decade  have 
aggregated  $200,000,000,  every  pound  came  from  the  Far  East,  about 
one-half  of  it  originating  in  Japan,  the  remainder  in  China,  the  Dutch 
East  Indies  and  India.  And,  of  course,  we  shall  be  entirely  dependent 
in  future  upon  them,  as  we  have  in  the  past,  for  this  product  of  which 

[14] 


THE  FAR  EAST  S  PRODUCTS 


our  importations  now  run  from  $25,000,000  to  $30,000,000  per  annum. 
Practically  all  of  the  world's  tea  is  grown  in  China,  Japan,  Formosa, 
Korea,  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  Ceylon  and  India,  all  of  them  lying 
within  the  Far  Eastern  territory,  and  produced,  as  are  all  the  other 
articles  enumerated,  by  a  people  disposed  to  accept  American  manu- 
factures in  exchange  for  their  natural  products. 

Gums 

UNDER  this  title  are  included  such  natural  products  as  shellac, 
terra  japonica,  copal,  kauri,  damar  and  camphor,  of  which  the  aggre- 
gate value  imported  in  the  fiscal  year  1920  was  about  $40,000,000, 
and  practically  all  of  it  drawn  from  the  Far  East,  especially  from 
India,  Ceylon,  the  Malayan  peninsula,  and  the  Dutch  East  Indies 
and  other  islands  of  the  Pacific,  though  practically  all  of  the  natural 
camphor  gum  is  a  product  of  Japan. 

0 

"S  Vegetable  Oils 

THE  growth  in  recent  years  of  world  use  of  vegetable  oils, 
*  especially  for  ^bod  purposes,  has  been  very  great.  Our  own  importa- 
tion of  vegetable  oils  has  grown  in  value  from  $6,000,000  in  1900  to 
$23,000,000  in  1910,  $33, 000,000  in  1914,  and  jumping  to  $116,000,000 
in  1919  and  approximately  $150,000,000  in  1920.  This  enormous 
growth  in  the  importation  of  vegetable  oils  occurs  chiefly  in  cocoanut, 
peanut  and  soya  bean  oil,  practically  all  of  which  is  supplied  by  the 
Far  East,  though  in  addition  to  this  the  importation  of  olive  oil, 
chiefly  from  southern  Europe,  shows  a  considerable  growth. 

Meantime,  Europe  has  also  greatly  increased  her  use  of  vegetable 
oils  for  food  purposes.  The  British  manufacture  of  "margarine," 
composed  chiefly  of  vegetable  oils,  and  especially  that  of  the  cocoa- 
nut,  has  increased  from  1600  tons  in  1912  to  7500  in  1919,  the  con- 
sumption of  "margarine"  having  advanced  in  the  period  named 
from  an  average  of  8  pounds  per  capita  to  20  pounds  while  that  of 
butter  fell  in  the  same  period  from  17  pounds  per  capita  to  6  pounds 
per  capita.  The  whole  world,  and  especially  the  Occidental  world, 
has  greatly  increased  in  very  recent  years  its  use  of  vegetable  oils. 

Nature  provided  for  man  three  classes  of  fat  for  food,  the  blubber  of 
the  whale  and  seal  for  man  in  the  frigid  zones,  the  fat  of  the  domestic 
animals  for  the  Temperate  Zone,  and  that  of  seeds  for  tropical  man. 
But  as  the  supply  of  food  animals  in  the  Temperate  Zone  is  running 

[15] 


TRADING  WITH  THE   FAR  EAST 


low,  Temperate  Zone  man  in  recent  years  has  reached  over  into  the 
tropical  fields  where  enormous  quantities  of  oil  seeds  and  nuts  were 
going  to  waste,  and  begun  supplying  himself  liberally  with  the 
vegetable  oils  which  his  tropical  neighbors  have  always  used  as  their 
food  fats. 

This  increase  has  occurred  very  largely  in  cocoanut  oil,  though  there 
are  also  marked  increases  in  the  quantity  of  other  food  oils  imported 
into  the  Temperate  Zone  countries,  and  especially  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain.  Our  own  importation  of  cocoanut  oil  in  the  fiscal 
year  1920  aggregated  270,000,000  pounds  against  50,000,000  pounds 
in  1913;  and  of  copra,  the  broken  meat  of  the  cocoanut  from  which 
this  oil  is  produced,  the  importation  advanced  from  40,000,000 
pounds  in  1913  to  260,000,000  in  1920.  Soya  bean  oil,  chiefly  produced 
in  China  and  Japan,  a  part  of  which  is  used  for  food  and  a  part  for 
industrial  purposes,  also  showed  very  large  increases,  from  12,000,000 
pounds  in  1913  to  196,000,000  in  1920,  and  of  the  beans  from 'which 
it  is  produced,  there  have  also  been  considerable  importations. 

Practically  all  of  these  food  oils  in  which  there  has  been  such  an 
enormous  increase  in  importation  in  the  last  decade,  and  especially 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  are  the  product  of  the  Far  East. 
Cocoanuts  and  therefore  the  cocoanut  oil  or  the  copra,  are  chiefly 
from  the  Philippine  Islands,  the  Dutch  East  Indies  and  in  a  lesser 
degree  the  coasts  of  the  Malayan  peninsula,  India  and  Ceylon,  over 
half  of  this  total  coming  from  the  Philippines.  Soya  bean  oil,  of 
which  the  importations  are  now  running  at  the  rate  of  $25,000,000 
a  year  as  against  less  than  $1,000,000  in  1914,  is  practically  all  the 
product  of  Manchuria;  a  part  of  it  is  drawn  direct  from  China,  or 
from  Japanese  leased  territory  in  China,  and  a  part  from  Japan  where 
it  is  produced,  in  part  at  least,  from  soya  beans  imported  from 
China.  In  1920,  we  imported  from  Japan  and  China  about  $40,000,000 
worth  of  peanuts  and  peanut  oil,  for  food  purposes. 

By  far  the  most  important  of  the  vegetable  oils  consumed  in  the 
United  States  is  that  produced  from  the  cocoanut,  and  these  oils  are 
now  manufactured  in  our  own  Philippine  Islands  in  which  several 
millions  of  dollars  of  American  capital  have  been  invested  in  recent 
years  in  the  establishment  of  cocoanut  plantations  and  the  factories 
for  turning  their  product  into  oil.  A  large  proportion  of  the  copra 
imported  is  also  from  the  Philippines.  The  total  value  of  copra  and 
cocoanut  oil  exported  from  the  Philippines  in  1919  was  $18,000,000 

[16] 


THE  FAR  EAST  S   PRODUCTS 


of  which  $3,000,000  was  in  the  form  of  copra  and  the  remainder  in 
oil.  In  1913,  the  value  of  the  oil  exported  was  a  little  over  $1,000,000 
and  of  copra,  $9,500,000. 

It  is  proper  to  add  that  a  part  of  the  vegetable  oils  above  discussed 
are  used  for  manufacturing  purposes,  especially  in  the  production  of 
soaps,  but  a  very  large  share  of  the  imports  are,  as  above  indicated 
utilized  for  food. 

Thus,  practically  all  of  the  Far  East,  from  Japan  southward,  con- 
tributes in  greater  or  less  degree  to  the  $200,000,000  worth  of  vege- 
table oils  (including  the  material  from  which  they  are  produced),  now 
annually  entering  the  United  States,  the  bulk  of  it,  however,  coming 
from  Japan,  China,  the  Philippines,  and  the  Dutch  East  Indies. 

And  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  growth  in  demand  in  the  United 
States  and  in  the  Temperate  Zones  generally  for  vegetable  oils  will 
increase,  especially  by  reason  of  the  decreasing  supply  of  dairy  ani- 
mals and  of  farm  labor  requisite  in  the  production  of  the  butter  for 
which  vegetable  oils  are  now  being  substituted.  The  vegetable  oil 
industry  of  the  world  has  "come  to  stay",  and  will  be,  for  many  years 
at  least,  'peculiar  to  the  Far  East,  though,  of  course,  the  possibilities 
of  the  cocoanut  and  peanut,  from  which  large  quantities  of  oil  are 
produced,  may  extend  to  other  areas  in  the  tropical  world,  especially 
those  fronting  upon  or  adjacent  to  tidewater,  and  the  world's  trade 
in  these  products  which  now  amounts  to  nearly  or  quite  a  half  billion 
dollars,  will  continue  to  increase. 

Sugar     U\ 

THE  Far  East  is  a  large  producer  of  sugar,  which  is  chiefly  con- 
sumed by  its  own  people.  India,  Java,  the  Philippine  Islands,  Formosa 
and  Japan  are,  in  the  order  named,  sugar  producers,  the  bulk,  how- 
ever, being  produced  in  India  and  Java.  Indeed,  these  five  sugar  areas 
of  the  Far  East  turn  out  over  5,000,000  tons  of  sugar  per  annum  out 
of  the  world's  total  of  a  little  over  15,000,000  at  the  present  time,  or 
say,  roughly,  one-third  of  the  world's  sugar  product.  Most  of  it  is, 
however,  as  already  indicated,  consumed  within  the  section  under 
consideration  and  in  very  large  degree  in  the  immediate  area  of  its 
production.  India,  for  example,  which  produces  3,000,000  tons  a  year, 
or  only  a  little  less  than  Cuba,  the  world's  greatest  sugar  producer, 
consumes  all  of  its  products  at  home  and  imports  considerable  quanti- 
ties, chiefly  from  Java  and  in  lesser  quantities  from  Mauritius,  which 

[17] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


lies  due  south  of  India  but  at  such  distance  that  it  is  not  included  in 
this  study.  Java  produces  from  1,500,000  tons  up  to  1,750,000  tons 
per  annum  in  years  of  exceptionally  large  production  and  sells  most 
of  it  to  her  neighbors,  chiefly  India,  China  and  Japan,  though  occa- 
sionally sending  considerable  quantities  to  the  more  distant  markets 
of  the  Occidental  world.  The  United  States  has  on  several  occasions 
imported  some  sugar  from  Java,  especially  in  times  of  high  prices,  but 
in  limited  quantities.  Europe,  which  since  the  war  is  not  producing 
ugh  beet  sugar  for  its  own  use,  has  imported  considerable 
quantities  from  Java  in  very  recent  years  as  well  as  at  intervals 
prior  to  the  war  period.  But  the  bulk  of  the  Javan  sugar  is  consumed 
in  the  Orient. 

The  Philippine  Islands  are  also  sugar  producers,  the  quantity  pro- 
duced in  excess  of  the  domestic  requirements  ranging  up  to  about 
250,000  tons  in  recent  years,  but  with  a  prospect  of  a  marked  increase 
due  to  the  fact  that  considerable  sums  of  American  capital  have  been 
invested  in  that  island  within  the  last  couple  of  years  in  the  develop- 
ment of  sugar  works  of  the  most  approved  modern  type,  part  of  them 
as  a  substitute  for  older  ones  less  modern  in  their  characteristics,  and  a 
part  as  entirely  new  enterprises  and  requiring  enlarged  supplies  of 
cane.  There  seems  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  Philippine  Islands 
might  be  developed  into  a  sugar-producing  area  with  a  greater  output 
than  that  of  Java,  especially  as  the  output  of  Java  will  probably  be 
reduced  in  the  future  in  view  of  the  necessity  of  utilizing  a  part  of  the 
lands  now  devoted  to  cane  for  the  production  of  rice  for  the  rapidly 
increasing  population  (now  35,000,000),  while  on  the  other  hand,  the 
Philippines,  with  equally  good  sugar  climate  and  lands,  could  easily 
turn  out  tenfold  its  present  production  and  still  have  ample  supplies 
of  land  for  production  of  other  requirements  of  her  population  and 
world  markets. 

Coffee 

AT  PRESENT  the  coffee  production  of  the  Far  East  is  an  ex- 
tremely small  proportion  of  the  world  output,  far  less,  in  fact,  than 
formerly.  At  one  time,  in  the  comparatively  early  world  history  of 
coffee  production,  the  Philippines,  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  Ceylon 
and  certain  sections  of  India,  supplied  a  very  considerable  percentage 
of  the  comparatively  limited  quantities  of  coffee  then  entering  the 
world  market.  With  the  great  enlargement  of  coffee  production  in 

[18] 


THE  FAR  EAST  S  PRODUCTS 


Brazil,  however,  coupled  with  a  blight  which  destroyed  the  producing 
power  of  the  coffee  fields  of  the  Dutch  East  Indies  and  the  Philip- 
pines, and  in  a  lesser  degree  those  of  Ceylon  and  India,  the  outturn 
of  coffee  in  the  Far  East  fell  off  and  became  (until  quite  recently)  an 
unimportant  factor  in  the  trade  of  that  section.  Of  the  2,600,000,000 
pounds  of  coffee  annually  entering  world  markets,  in  the  period 
1909-13  only  about  60,000,000  pounds  was  the  product  of  the  Far 
East,  chiefly  the  Dutch  East  Indies.  But  the  very  recent  introduc- 
tion into  Java  and  Sumatra  of  a  new  coffee  tree,  "The  Robusta", 
better  able  to  endure  the  vicissitudes  of  climatic  diseases  and  insect 
pests,  has  already  materially  increased  production,  and  promises  to 
revolutionize  the  coffee  industry  of  Java,  Sumatra  and  possibly  the 
Philippine  Islands,  though  the  bulk  of  the  world's  coffee  production 
will  doubtless  continue  with  Brazil,  seconded  by  other  South  and 
Central  American  countries. 

Rice 

THE  importance  of  the  rice  industry  is  very  great,  especially 
when  we  realize  that  rice  forms  the  cereal  food  of  more  than  half  the 
population  of  the  earth,  that  it  holds  to  a  large  proportion  of  the  850,- 
000,000  people  of  Asia  a  relation  similar  to  that  of  wheat  to  the  750,- 
000,000  people  of  the  Occidental  world,  except  that  it  forms  a  much 
larger  proportion  of  the  daily  food  of  the  Oriental  world  than  does 
wheat  of  the  Occidental  world.  Indeed,  the  quantity,  measured  in 
pounds,  of  rice  consumed  in  the  world  falls  little  below  the  quantity 
of  wheat  consumed.  And,  curiously,  nine-tenths  of  this  enormous 
world  supply  of  rice,  which  aggregates  about  150,000,000,000  pounds 
(as  against  an  annual  world  average  of  about  225,000,000,000  pounds 
of  wheat),  is  produced  in  the  countries  which  we  have  here  designated 
as  the  Far  East.  The  only  other  rice  producing  country  of  any  con- 
siderable importance  is  the  United  States,  which  has  become  a  very 
considerable  producer  by  the  application  of  machine  cultivation  as 
against  the  hand  and  animal  power  cultivation  by  which  all  the  rice 
of  the  Far  East  is  produced. 

In  fact,  the  ability  of  this  Far  Eastern  section,  fronting  upon  the 
Indian  Ocean  and  the  Pacific,  to  produce  rice  is  one  of  the  principal 
causes  of  its  dense  population — of  its  power  to  maintain  so  large  a 
population.  Rice  requires  large  supplies  of  water  for  its  successful 
growth  (far  in  excess  of  that  of  any  other  grain),  and  it  is  only  in 

[19] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


sections  having  very  heavy  rainfall,  and  therefore  large  water  sup- 
plies, that  it  can  be  successfully  produced.  These  areas  of  great  rain- 
fall are  those  lying  along  the  ocean  frontage  of  the  Far  East,  where 
the  fall  ranges  from  40  to  1 60  inches  and  in  exceptional  cases  much 
more,  during  the  summer  period.  With  this  enormous  water  supply 
during  the  growing  season,  possibilities  of  rice  production  are  created 
which  are  unequalled  in  any  part  of  the  world  except  in  a  small  area 
of  the  United  States  where  water  is  supplied  by  irrigation  from 
artesian  wells  and  great  rivers,  and  drained  off  in  time  to  permit  the 
cultivation  and  harvesting  of  the  rice  by  machinery. 

In  the  Far  Eastern  section,  however,  in  which  the  water  supply  is 
chiefly  that  furnished  by  the  rains  of  the  current  season,  its  success 
in  supplying  the  cereal  food  of  such  a  dense  population  is  only  ren- 
dered possible  by  the  great  rain  supplies  brought  by  the  monsoon  winds 
flowing  in  from  the  ocean.  India,  Burma  (which  is  a  part  of  the  polit- 
ical division  designated  as  India),  the  Malayan  peninsula,  Ceylon, 
Java,  Siam,  French  Indo-China,  the  Philippine  Islands,  China,  Korea 
and  Japan  are  the  world's  great  producers  of  rice,  and  nine-tenths  of 
their  product  is  consumed  by  the  people  of  the  Far  East,  though  cer- 
tain of  these  Far  Eastern  countries  are  compelled  to  buy  rice  from 
certain  other  neighboring  countries.  The  Philippines  and  Dutch  East 
Indies,  frequently  import  rice  from  Siam  and  French  Indo-China  in 
considerable  quantities,  and  Japan  exports  considerable  quantities  of 
her  high-grade  rice,  and  imports  equally  large  quantities  of  a  less  ex- 
pensive grade  from  her  neighbors,  especially  Siam,  French  Indo-China 
and  India.  China  with  her  enormous  population  probably  produces 
more  rice  than  any  other  single  country  of  the  world,  and  also  imports 
limited  quantities  from  French  Indo-China, Siam,  Singapore  and  India. 

The  Philippine  Islands,  which  formerly  produced  all  of  the  rice  re- 
quired by  their  10,000,000  inhabitants,  have  been  in  recent  years 
considerable  importers  of  rice,  this  being  due  in  some  degree  to  the 
fact  that  other  lines  of  agricultural  industry  proved  more  profitable 
proportionately  and  resulted  in  a  greater  dependence  upon  her  neigh- 
bors— Indo-China  and  Siam — for  this  extremely  important  factor  in 
her  food  supply. 


Miscellaneous  Products 

icles  prod 
tional  coi 

[20] 


MANY  other  articles  produced  in  the  Far  East  are  also  impor- 
tant factors  in  international  commerce. 


THE  FAR  EAST  S  PRODUCTS 


Wool  is  exported  in  very  considerable  quantities  from  India,  China 
and  Asiatic  Russia,  most  of  it  to  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 
and  formerly  to  Germany;  kapok,  a  silky  fibre  somewhat  similar  to 
cotton  but  of  such  short  lengths  that  it  is  at  present  little  used  except 
for  cushions,  bedding  and  life  preservers,  is  becoming  an  article  of 
increasing  importance  in  commerce,  with  apparently  great  possibili- 
ties for  manufacturing  purposes  in  conjunction  with  other  fibres  and 
the  production  of  certain  types  of  cloths.  The  value  of  the  imports  of 
this  article  into  the  United  States  alone  has  grown  from  a  half 
million  dollars  in  1911,  the  first  year  in  which  it  was  mentioned  as  an 
article  of  import,  to  five  million  dollars  in  the  fiscal  year  1920,  most 
of  it  coming  from  the  Dutch  East  Indies  with  very  small  quantities 
from  Japan  and  the  Philippine  Islands. 

Jute  has  long  been  an  important  article  of  production  in  India  and 
of  import  into  the  United  States,  a  part  of  it  in  condition  for  use  in 
our  factories,  and  a  large  part  transformed  into  bagging  or  "burlaps" 
used  for  cotton  baling  and  various  agricultural  products.  India  is  the 
world's  chief  producer  of  jute,  and  it  is  in  part  turned  into  the  manu- 
factured form  before  leaving  that  country,  a  part  sent  in  the  natural 
state  to  the  United  Kingdom  where  it  is  manufactured  and  re-ex- 
ported in  the  form  of  bags  and  bagging,  and  a  part  sent  in  the  natural 
state  to  the  United  States  and  certain  other  countries.  Our  imports 
of  jute,  almost  exclusively  from  India,  were  in  1920  about  $10,000,000 
and  of  manufactures  of  jute  over  $95,000,000  of  which  about  $75,000,- 
ooo  was  from  India  and  the  remainder  produced  from  jute  grown  in 
India. 

Manila  hemp,  which  is  as  peculiar  to  the  Philippines  as  is  jute  to 
India,  is  also  an  extremely  important  product  in  all  the  lines  in  which 
hemp  is  used  and  especially  ropes,  cordage  and  other  high-grade 
material  of  this  character.  The  Philippine  Islands  have  had  practically 
the  monopoly  of  world  production  of  this  article  for  many  years,  and 
sent  their  product  chiefly  to  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
and  formerly  in  considerable  quantities  to  Germany,  and  in  lesser 
quantities  to  other  European  countries.  The  value  of  Manila  hemp 
produced  in  and  exported  from  the  Philippine  Islands  ranges  about 
$50,000,000  per  annum  and  exceeds  that  of  any  other  single  export 
from  the  islands.  Efforts  to  develop  its  production  elsewhere  have  not 
met  with  such  success  as  to  endanger  the  industry  in  the  Philippines. 

Spices,  which  were  in  the  early  part  of  Occidental  trade  with  the 

[21] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


Far  East  the  most  important  of  all  the  items  of  merchandise  drawn 
therefrom,  still  continue  to  be  of  very  considerable  importance  es- 
pecially in  the  production  and  exports  of  India,  Ceylon,  the  Malayan 
peninsula,  and  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  and  our  own  importations  of 
spices  of  all  sorts,  all  of  them  from  the  Far  East,  have  steadily  grown 
from  3^  million  dollars  in  1910  to  about  13  millions  in  1920. 

Gums  also  are  an  important  factor  in  the  commerce  of  the  Far 
East  and  in  our  imports  therefrom.  Of  shellac  alone  our  imports 
amounted  in  the  fiscal  year  1920  to  approximately  22  million  dollars 
as  against  less  than  3  millions  in  the  year  prior  to  the  war,  and  prac- 
tically all  of  this  is  drawn  from  India.  Camphor,  of  which  the  imports 
in  the  crude  or  natural  state  amounted  to  about  6  million  dollars, 
practically  all  comes  from  Japan,  as  does  also  a  very  large  proportion 
of  the  "synthetic",  or  manufactured  article  which  is  now  so  nearly 
identical  with  the  natural  product  that  they  are  frequently  grouped 
under  one  heading  of  "camphor,  refined  and  synthetic." 

Of  tobacco,  our  imports  from  the  Far  East  are  of  very  considerable 
value,  especially  that  of  the  class  grown  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies  for 
use  as  cigar  wrappers,  of  which  the  United  States  alone  imported  in 
the  fiscal  year  1920  about  10  million  dollars  worth,  most  of  it  coming 
at  present  direct  from  the  Dutch  East  Indies  to  our  own  ports  instead 
of  coming  by  way  of  the  Netherlands  as  formerly. 

We  should  hardly  expect  the  United  States,  with  its  large  agricul- 
tural area  and  bigness  of  the  industry  in  certain  of  our  Southern 
states  to  be  an  importer  of  peanuts  in  any  considerable  quantity, 
but  we  brought  from  abroad  in  the  fiscal  year  1920  no  less  than  12 
million  dollars  worth  of  these  nuts  and  28  million  dollars  worth  of 
peanut  oil.  Practically  all  of  the  peanuts  thus  imported  come  from 
Japan,  China  and  the  British  colony  of  Hongkong — the  latter  lying 
at  the  southeastern  entrance  of  China,  and  practically  all  of  its  ex- 
ports being  of  Chinese  origin.  Nearly  all  of  the  peanut  oil  imported  is 
also  drawn  from  Japan  and  China.  This  very  large  importation  of 
peanut  oil  from  the  Far  East  is  a  comparatively  new  factor  in  that 
trade,  the  quantity  imported  having  grown  from  i  million  gallons 
just  prior  to  the  war  to  over  20  million  gallons  in  the  fiscal  year  1920. 
The  oil  is  used  largely  for  the  same  purposes  as  those  to  which  cocoa- 
nut  oil  is  applied,  the  manufacture  of  "margarine"  or  artificial  butter, 
also  for  cooking  fats  as  a  substitute  for  lard,  and  in  the  manufacture 
of  soaps. 

[22] 


AMERICA  S  SALES  TO  FAR  EAST 


OUR  PRINCIPAL  SALES  TO  THE  FAR  EAST 

WHAT  do  we  sell  to  the  Far  East? — Manufactures  of  all  kinds, 
foods  in  not  inconsiderable  quantities,  and  one  important 
article  of  manufacturing  material,  cotton,  chiefly  to  Japan. 

The  classes  of  manufactures  which  we  send  in  exchange  for  the 
imports  above  referred  to  are  very  numerous  and  very  broad  in  their 
lines  of  use,  some  for  the  fields,  many  for  the  industries  and  trans- 
portation, and  numberless  articles  for  personal,  domestic  and  house- 
hold use. 

Cotton  Goods 

OF  cotton  cloths,  which  we  formerly  sent  to  all  Far  Eastern 
countries,  the  demand  for  our  product  has  been  somewhat  minimized 
by  the  activity  of  the  Japanese  manufacturers,  who,  however,  pur- 
chase much  of  their  raw  cotton  from  the  United  States  and  sell  their 
manufactures  in  all  the  Orient.  The  recent  growth  in  our  exports  of 
cotton  manufactures  to  the  Far  East  is,  however,  distinctly  encourag- 
ing. The  quantity  of  unbleached  cottons  sent  to  China  in  the  fiscal 
year  1920  amounted  to  30  million  yards  against  3  millions  in  the 
preceding  year,  and  to  India  about  5^  million  yards  against  less  than 
i  million  the  year  preceding.  Of  bleached  cottons,  the  quantity  sent 
to  China  in  1920  was  approximately  4  million  yards,  printed  cotton 
cloths  also  4  million  yards  and  of  the  other  grades  another  million. 
The  Philippines  also  take  large  quantities  of  cotton  cloths  of  all  grades, 
our  1920  exports  to  the  Philippines  aggregating  about  30  million 
yards  and  to  China  about  40  millions. 

Iron  and  Steel 

PROBABLY  the  most  important  single  group  of  articles  now 
being  exported  to  the  Far  East  is  iron  and  steel  manufactures,  of  which 
there  has  been  a  very  striking  increase  in  very  recent  years.  Of  steel 
plates,  the  shipment  to  Japan  alone  in  the  fiscal  year  1920  amounted  to 
598,000,000  pounds  valued  at  approximately  $20,000,000.  Steel  sheets 
to  Japan  were  sent  to  the  amount  of  130,000,000  pounds,  and  $12,000,- 
ooo  worth  of  steel  rails  to  Japan  and  $2,000,000  worth  to  the  Dutch 
East  Indies.  Our  wrought  iron  pipes  and  fittings  are  also  growing  in 
popularity  with  the  Orient,  the  quantity  sent  to  India  in  1920  being 
about  50,000,000  pounds  valued  at  over  $3,000,000;  to  the  Dutch 
East  Indies  22,000,000  pounds;  and  to  Japan  60,000,000  pounds. 

[23] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


Our  structural  iron  and  steel  is  also  in  growing  favor  with  the  Far 
East,  the  shipments  in  1920  to  Japan  alone  aggregating  about  $4,000,- 
ooo  in  value,  with  lesser  quantities  to  India,  the  Dutch  East  Indies, 
China  and  the  Philippine  Islands. 

The  Senior  British  Trade  Commissioner  in  India,  Thomas  M. 
Ainscough,  in  a  report  in  1920  to  the  British  Government,  calls 
attention  to  the  startling  gains  which  American  manufacturers  of  iron 
and  steel  are  making  in  India.  He  says  that  although  American  manu- 
facturers and  merchants  have  little  experience  in  overseas  trade,  they 
have  recently  adapted  themselves  to  the  requirements  of  the  Indian 
market  in  a  most  remarkable  way,  and  that  "there  is  no  doubt  what- 
ever that  American  competition  in  India  has  come  to  stay",  indicating 
that  the  growth  occurs  especially  in  machine  tools,  mill  stores,  hard- 
ware, canned  provisions,  motor  cars,  and  lumber.  The  increase  in 
American  competition  in  steel,  he  says,  has  been  very  great,  the  im- 
ports from  the  United  States  having  advanced  from  3%  of  the  total 
in  the  pre-war  quinquennium  to  41%  in  1917-18,  while  the  1918-19 
total  was  materially  greater  than  that  of  1917-18  on  which  the  per- 
centages of  gain  are  estimated.  America's  share  of  the  imports  of 
machinery  and  mill  works  have  also  advanced  from  3%  to  about  28% 
of  the  total,  and  he  adds  that  the  American  products  have  been  so 
satisfactory  to  the  people  of  India  that  "it  is  likely  that  the  American 
connections,  having  once  been  made,  will  be  retained,  and  must  be 
regarded  as  permanent." 

China  alone  took  in  1920,  33,000,000  pounds  of  tin  plate;  India, 
10,000,000;  the  Straits  Settlements,  which  sent  us  most  of  the  tin 
for  use  in  its  manufacture,  over  6,000,000  pounds;  and  the  Dutch  East 
Indies  nearly  2,000,000,  while  Hongkong  (the  doorway  to  southern 
China)  took  approximately  20,000,000  pounds,  and-Japan  1 50,000,000 
pounds  valued  at  about  $  12,000,000. 

Japan  took  in  1920  $3,000,000  worth  of  metal- working  machinery, 
while  India  and  China  took  another  million  dollars  worth;  Japan  took 
2*/2  million  dollars  worth  of  sewing  machines  and  China,  the  Philip- 
pines and  the  Dutch  East  Indies  a  million  dollars.  Typewriters  to  the 
dozen  countries  of  the  Far  East  aggregate  a  million  dollars  in  1920. 

There  are  also  various  iron  and  steel  manufactures  for  household 
and  general  domestic  requirements  in  groups  too  numerous  to  mention 
but  forming  in  the  aggregate  large  values  distributed  to  all  of  the  Far 
Eastern  countries,  and  in  constantly  increasing  quantities. 

[24] 


AMERICA  S  SALES  TO  FAR  EAST 


DESPITE  the  assertion  that  the  Far  East  has  not  yet  reached  a 
stage  in  its  highway  construction  to  render  it  an  especially  attractive 
field  for  the  automobile  either  for  passenger  or  commercial  purposes, 
the  exports  of  this  class  to  the  region  are  large  and  rapidly  growing.  To 
India,  the  total  for  the  fiscal  year  1920  was,  in  round  terms,  8,000  cars 
valued  at  over  $8,000,000,  and  to  Dutch  East  Indies  about  1,600  cars 
valued  at  approximately  $2,000,000;  to  Japan  nearly  3,000  cars  valued 
at  2^/2  million  dollars  and  to  the  Philippines  2,000  cars  valued  at 
approximately  $2,000,000.  These  figures  relate  to  passenger  cars, 
while  the  freight  automobiles  sent  to  China,  the  Dutch  East  Indies, 
Japan  and  the  Philippines  in  1920  aggregated  about  $3,000,000  in 
value.  Of  rubber  tires  for  automobiles,  the  exports  to  China,  Japan, 
India,  Straits  Settlements  and  Dutch  East  Indies  in  1920  aggregated 
about  $5,000,000  in  value. 

Petroleum 

PETROLEUM,  in  all  its  forms,  is  and  has  been  for  many  years  an 
important  factor  in  our  exports  to  the  Far  East.  The  shipments  of  illu- 
minating oil  in  1920  to  India  amounted  to  about  $7,000,000  in  value; 
the  Dutch  East  Indies  (large  producers  of  petroleum)  approximately 
$2,000,000;  to  Hongkong,  more  than  $3,000,000;  to  Japan  approx- 
imately $5,000,000;  to  the  Philippine  Islands  approximately  $2,000,- 
ooo.  Of  lubricating  oils,  to  China,  India,  the  Dutch  East  Indies, 
Hongkong  and  Japan  our  shipments  were  $6,000,000;  of  gasoline  to 
China,  Japan  and  the  Philippine  Islands,  nearly  $1,000,000;  while 
Japan'  in  1920,  for  the  first  time,  demanded  fuel  and  gas  oil  to  the 
extent  of  nearly  10,000,000  gallons. 

The  Far  East  is  showing  an  especial  interest  in  the  recently  devel- 
oped industry  of  the  United  States,  the  production  of  dyes  and  dye- 
stuffs.  Our  production  and  exportation  of  dyes  and  dyestuffs  have,  as 
is  well  known,  greatly  increased  since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  in 
the  fiscal  year  1920  China  took  2^  million  dollars  worth  from  us, 
India  over  three  million  worth,  Hongkong  a  half  million,  and  Japan 
over  six  million,  chiefly  of  aniline  dyes.  Our  exportation  of  dyestuffs 
which,  prior  to  the  war  never  exceeded  a  half  million  dollars,  was  25 
millions  in  1920. 

Of  food  products,  considerable  quantities  are  also  sent  to  that  sec- 
tion of  the  Orient  under  consideration.  Of  condensed  milk,  in  1920  we 

[25] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


sent  to  China  nearly  $  1,000,000  worth,  to  India  $2,000,000,  and  to 
the  Straits  Settlements  $i, 250,000,  to  Dutch  East  Indies  over  half  a 
million,  to  Hongkong  one-third  of  a  million,  to  Japan  over  half  a 
million  dollars  worth,  and  to  the  Philippines  more  than  $2,000,000 
worth. 

Tobacco  in  all  its  forms,  but  more  especially  in  the  form  of  cigar- 
ettes, is  an  important  factor  in  our  exports  to  the  Far  East.  To  China 
alone,  the  exports  of  unmanufactured  tobacco  in  1920  amounted  to 
about  $12,000,000;  to  Hongkong  a  half  million;  to  Japan  nearly 
$3,000,000.  We  shipped  to  China  about  $10,000,000  worth  of  cigar- 
ettes; India  $1,500,000;  Straits  Settlements  $1,200,000,  and  to  the 
Philippine  Islands  approximately  half  a  million  dollars. 

As  already  indicated,  Japan  is  a  large  buyer  of  American  raw  cot- 
ton, the  quantity  sent  to  that  country  in  the  fiscal  year  1920  amount- 
ing to  438,000,000  pounds,  valued  at  $176,000,000,  and  to  China 
about  5,000,000  pounds  valued  at  approximately  $2,000,000;  this 
grand  total  being  by  far  the  largest  single  total  in  value  of  our  ship- 
ments of  cotton  to  that  country,  which  has  become  a  considerable 
manufacturer  of  cotton  goods,  buying  its  raw  material  chiefly  from 
the  United  States,  India  and  in  lesser  quantities  from  China. 

There  are  many  other  articles,  again  "too  numerous  to  mention", 
though  contributing  materially  to  the  $850,000,000  worth  of  merchan- 
dise which  we  sent  in  1920  to  the  Far  Eastern  countries  in  part  pay- 
ment for  the  $1,350,000,000  worth  which  we  took  from  them  in  the 
fiscal  year  1920.  These  include  such  articles  as  railway  cars,  refined 
copper  of  which  the  1920  exports  to  Japan  were  very  large  ($27,000,- 
ooo),  cotton  knit  goods,  electrical  machinery,  window  glass,  manufac- 
tures of  rubber,  traction  engines,  stationary  engines,  sugar  mill 
machinery,  wire  nails,  barbed  wire,  leather,  boots  and  shoes,  naval 
stores,  paper,  photographic  goods,  lumber,  canned  fruits  and  flour. 

COUNTRIES  SUPPLYING  IMPORTS 
OF  THE  FAR  EAST 

ONE  especially  important   question  which  comes  to  the  front 
in  consideration  of  the  area  in  question,  is:  Where  do  the  dozen 
countries  and  colonies  included  in  the  territory  here  designated  as  the 
Far  East  buy  the  $4,000,000,000  worth  of  merchandise  which  they  im- 
port? We  know  that  nearly  $1,000,000,000  worth  of  it  is  drawn  from 

[26] 


SOURCES  OF  FAR  EAST  S  IMPORTS 


the  United  States,  for  while  our  figures  of  exports  to  those  countries 
aggregate  in  1920  $850,000,000,  the  value  by  the  time  they  reach 
their  ports  is  doubtless  more  than  a  billion,  and  the  United  States 
now  holds  a  much  higher  rank  among  the  countries  supplying  the 
demands  of  that  section  of  the  world  than  formerly. 

Prior  to  the  War,  Great  Britain  held  first  rank  in  supplying  the 
demands  of  the  Far  East,  especially  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the 
largest  single  importer  in  that  group,  India,  quite  naturally  took  a 
very  large  proportion  of  its  imports  from  the  governing  country,  Great 
Britain,  while  the  long  experience  of  the  British  in  the  Orient  had 
given  them  also  a  larger  percentage  of  the  imports  of  China  and  Japan 
than  that  supplied  by  any  other  country,  though  Germany  was 
making  rapid  gains  in  Far  Eastern  trade  in  the  years  immediately 
preceding  the  war.  France  has  never  been  a  large  exporter  to  the 
extreme  Orient  except  to  her  own  colonial  territory,  French  Indo- 
China,  though  she  sold  limited  quantities  to  practically  all  of  the 
important  importing  countries — India,  Dutch  East  Indies,  China, 
Japan  and  the  Philippines. 

India 

INDIA'S  imports  from  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary,  which 
amounted  to  about  $50,000,000  in  the  year  before  the  war,  dropped, 
of  course,  to  nothing  during  the  war  and  had  not  been  resumed  in 
1919.  Those  from  the  other  European  countries,  except  Great  Britain, 
declined  materially,  while  those  from  Great  Britain  also  somewhat 
declined.  Those  from  the  United  States  and  Japan,  however,  ma- 
terially increased,  those  from  the  United  States  having  advanced  from 
$17,000,000  in  1913  to  $52,000,000  in  1919;  while  from  Japan,  lying 
much  nearer  and  supplying  manufactures  of  all  kinds,  many  of  them 
of  the  special  class  which  the  East  Indians  desire,  there  was  a  still 
greater  increase,  their  total  imports  from  Japan  advancing  from  $13,- 
000,000  in  1913  to  $59,000,000  in  1918  and  $108,000,000  in  1919 
though  recent  reports  indicate  a  marked  fall-off  in  the  1920  imports 
from  Japan.  From  the  United  Kingdom  India's  imports  were  in  1913 
$330,000,000  and  in  1919  $250,000,000.  Thus  the  United  States  and 
Japan  were  the  principal  countries  making  gains  in  the  Indian  import 
trade  during  the  war  period,  the  grand  total  of  her  imports  of  1919 
differing  little  in  stated  value  from  those  of  1913,  standing  in  1919  at 
$548,000,000  against  $522,000,000  in  1913. 

[27] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


China 

CHINA  showed  a  marked  increase  in  the  value  of  her  imports 
during  the  war  period  and  a  very  large  percentage  of  increase  was  in 
the  imports  from  the  United  States.  The  total  value  of  her  imports  in 
1913  was  $423,000,000  and  in  1918  $662,000,000.  Japan  had  been, 
prior  even  to  the  war,  the  largest  single  contributor  to  the  imports  of 
China,  her  total  imports  from  Japan  in  1913  having  stood  at  $89,000,- 
ooo  advancing  to  $230,000,000  in  1917  and  $286,300,000  in  191 8.  Great 
Britain  was  next  in  rank,  supplying  $72,000,000  worth  of  China's 
imports  in  1913  and  $59,000,000  in  1918.  From  the  United  States 
China,  according  to  her  official  figures,  took  $26,000,000  in  1914, 
$43,000,000  worth  in  1916,  and  $69,000,000  worth  in  1918,  while  our 
own  figures  of  exports  to  China  indicate  that  her  total  takings  from 
us  in  1919  aggregate  over  $100,000,000  and  our  total  exports  to 
China  in  the  fiscal  year  1920  aggregate  about  $130,000,000.  China's 
imports  from  Germany  in  the  year  before  the  war  were  about  $21,000,- 
ooo  and,  of  course,  fell  off  entirely  during  the  war  period  while  those 
from  Austria-Hungary,  which  aggregated  about  $3,000,000,  also 
disappeared. 

Japan 

JAPAN'S  trade  development  during  the  war  period  was  phenom- 
enal. The  activity  of  her  industries  caused  a  great  demand  for  manu- 
facturing material  and  food  from  abroad,  and  the  demands  for  the 
products  of  her  factories  and  her  supplies  of  raw  silk,  food  oils,  etc., 
made  her  also  a  large  exporter.  Her  imports  increased  from  $363,000,- 
ooo  in  1913  to  $832,000,000  in  1918  and  a  little  over  $1,000,000,000  in 
1919.  The  United  States  is  the  largest  single  contributor  to  her  im- 
ports, the  total  drawn  from  the  United  States  increasing  from  $61,- 
000,000  in  1913  to  $102,000,000  in  1916,  $179,000,000  in  1917, 
$312,000,000  in  1918,  and  $383,000,000  in  1919,  while  our  own  figures 
show  exports  to  Japan  in  the  fiscal  year  1920  $453,000,000  against 
$326,000,000  in  1919.  From  China  her  imports  also  largely  increased 
since  she  drew  from  that  country  considerable  quantities  of  raw 
cotton  and  large  quantities  of  material  for  production  of  food  oils 
and  other  articles  of  food,  especially  rice  and  beans,  her  total  imports 
from  China  having  advanced  from  $35,000,000  in  1913  to  $140,000,000 
in  1918  and  $161,000,000  in  1919.  Her  imports  from  Germany,  which 
amounted  to  $34,000,000  in  1913,  were  a  little  less  than  $2,000,000  in 

[28] 


1918  and  less  than  half  a  million  in  1919.  From  India,  her  imports 
have  always  been  comparatively  large  since  a  great  proportion  of  the 
raw  cotton  which  she  uses  in  her  mills  is  drawn  from  India  especially 
when  prices  in  the  United  States  are  higher,  and  her  imports  from 
India  advanced  from  $87,000,000  in  1913  to  $134,000,000  in  1918  and 
$160,000,000  in  1919.  From  Great  Britain,  her  imports  dropped  during 
the  war  period  from  $61,000,000  in  1913  to  $33,000,000  in  1918,  ad- 
vancing, however,  to  $62,000,000  in  1919  and  thus  returning  to  prac- 
tically the  pre-war  figure. 

Dutch  East  Indies 

THE  Dutch  East  Indies  have  made  large  increases  in  their  im- 
ports from,  and  exports  to,  the  United  States,  and  also  material  gains 
in  their  imports  from  Japan  while  those  from  the  Mother  Country, 
Netherlands,  and  also  from  other  European  countries  declined  chiefly 
because  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  transportation  by  the  Medi- 
terranean route  by  which  their  imports  from  western  Europe  were 
chiefly  drawn.  Detailed  figures  of  the  Dutch  East  Indian  trade  are 
not  available  for  the  most  recent  years,  but  our  own  figures  of  exports 
to  the  Dutch  East  Indies  show  remarkable  gains,  the  total  to  those 
islands  having  advanced  from  $2,741,000  in  the  fiscal  year  1914,  all 
of  which  preceded  the  war,  to  $46,000,000  in  the  fiscal  year  1920.  The 
imports  from  Japan  into  the  islands  also  greatly  increased,  as  indicated 
by  the  Japanese  figures  which  show  the  value  of  exports  to  Dutch 
East  Indies  in  1917  $8,600,000,  and  in  1919  $32,600,000.  While  it  is 
to  be  expected  that  the  imports  from  the  Mother  Country,  Nether- 
lands, which  fell  off  very  greatly  during  the  war,  will  be  resumed  in 
considerable  degree,  the  popularity  of  American  products  in  all  the 
Dutch  East  Indian  islands,  and  especially  Java,  gives  reason  to  expect 
a  continuation  of  the  very  large  exports  to  those  islands,  especially  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  our  imports  of  their  rubber,  tin,  coffee,  tea,  copra, 
cocoanut  oil,  fibres,  spices  and  tobacco  have  greatly  increased,  the  total 
value  of  our  imports  from  the  Dutch  East  Indies  having  advanced 
from  $6,500,000  in  the  year  preceding  the  war  to  $78,743,000  in  the 
fiscal  year  1919  and  over  $95,000,000  in  the  fiscal  year  1920. 

Philippines 

WITH  the  Philippine  Islands  our  own  trade  has  gained  during 
the  war  period  and  that  of  other  countries  declined,  except  in  the  case 

[29] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


of  Japan  which  shows  a  material  increase  in  the  imports  of  the  islands. 
The  total  imports  of  the  islands  advanced  from  $53,000,000  in  1913 
to  $99,000,000  in  1918  and  $108,000,000  in  1919.  Those  from  Japan 
advanced  from  $3,500,000  to  $13,000,000  in  1918,  those  from  Great 
Britain  fell  from  $5,500,000  in  1913  to  $2,700,000  in  1918,  while  those 
from  the  United  States  advanced  from  $26,700,000  in  1913  to  $59,000,- 
ooo  in  1918,  $65,000,000  in  1919,  and  $71,000,000  in  the  fiscal  year  1920. 

Straits  Settlements 

THE  trade  of  the  Straits  Settlements,  of  which  Singapore  is  the 
chief  port,  shows  large  totals  though  the  merchandise  reaching  that 
port,  Singapore,  is  largely  for  trans-shipment  to  other  countries  of  the 
Far  East,  and  the  merchandise  exported  from  there  also  is,  in  con- 
siderable degree,  the  production  of  other  adjacent  countries,  this 
peculiarity  of  the  Singapore  trade  being  due  to  the  fact  that  it  stands 
at  the  turning  point  of  the  trade  routes  between  the  Occident  and  the 
extreme  eastern  frontage  of  Asia  lying  at  the  north,  and  the  Dutch 
East  Indies,  Australia  and  New  Zealand  at  the  south.  The  official 
figures  of  the  Straits  Settlements  show  total  imports  in  1913  of 
$258,000,000  and  in  1917  of  $367,000,000,  the  largest  contributing 
country  being  the  Dutch  East  Indies  which  send  their  tin,  and  in 
some  degree  their  rubber,  to  Singapore  for  trans-shipment  to  Europe 
and  the  United  States.  The  total  imports  of  the  Straits  Settlements 
from  the  Dutch  East  Indies  advanced  from  $40,000,000  in  1913  to 
$62,000,000  in  1917  (latest  available  figures),  those  from  Siam  from 
$26,000,000,  to  $44,000,000;  from  Japan  from  $7,000,000  to  $20,000,- 
ooo;  from  the  United  Kingdom  the  imports  declined  from  $30,000,000 
in  1913  to  $27,000,000  in  1917  while  those  from  the  United  States 
increased  from  $3,700,000  to  $9,900,000  in  1917.  Later  figures  of  our 
own  trade  with  the  Straits  Settlements  show  a  continued  growth,  our 
exports  to  that  division  of  the  Far  East  having  advanced,  according 
to  our  own  figures,  from  $3,668,000  in  1914  to  $12,135,000  in  1919  and 
approximately  $15,000,000  in  the  fiscal  year  1920,  a  part  of  this  total 
having  been  for  use  in  the  Malayan  peninsula  and  considerable  parts 
for  trans-shipment  to  the  Asiatic  frontage,  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  and 
British  Australasia. 

Hongkong 

HONKGONG  is  also  an  important  factor  in  the  trade  of  the  Far 

[30] 


SOURCES  OF  FAR  EAST  S  IMPORTS 


East,  lying  as  it  does  immediately  adjacent  to  the  entrance  of  southern 
China.  All  of  the  merchandise  destined  for  that  section  of  China,  and 
especially  Canton,  which  is  a  great  consuming  and  distributing  centre, 
passes  through  Hongkong  whence  it  moves  chiefly  by  river  to  Canton 
and  other  trade  centres  of  southern  China.  Statistics  of  the  imports 
and  exports  of  Hongkong  only  cover  a  very  recent  period,  their  ac- 
cumulation and  presentation  having  only  begun  in  1918,  when  the 
imports  totalled  $331,000,000  and  the  exports  $427,000,000  most  of 
this,  however,  passing  on,  as  indicated,  into  China  or  drawn  from 
China  and  sent  out  of  Hongkong  to  other  ports,  some  of  them  on  the 
eastern  frontage  of  China  and  others  in  the  more  distant  countries. 
Our  own  figures  of  trade  with  Hongkong,  however,  have  been  pub- 
lished for  many  years  and  our  exports  to  that  port  have  grown  from 
$9,258,000  in  the  fiscal  year  1914  to  $22,093,000  in  1920,  while  our 
imports  from  Hongkong  have  grown  from  $2,664,000  in  1914  to 
$30,068,000  in  1918,  and  approximately  $37,000,000  in  1920. 

Eastern  Siberia 

A  DISCUSSION  of  the  trade  of  the  Far  East  would  be  incomplete 
without  a  reference  to  that  of  southeastern  Siberia,  the  section  fronting 
upon  that  part  of  the  Pacific  known  as  the  Sea  of  Japan  and  having 
Vladivostok  as  its  chief  ocean  port.  Unfortunately  little  is  available 
as  to  the  total  value  of  the  trade  of  that  immediate  section,  and  espe- 
pecially  so  as  a  considerable  part  of  that  trade  passes  from  Siberian 
territory  by  rail  southward  through  Manchuria.  It  is  possible  to  pre- 
sent figures  of  our  own  trade  with  that  section  which  we  officially 
designate  in  our  trade  returns  as  "Russia  in  Asia",  and  it  may  be 
assumed  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  merchandise  which  we 
send  to  "Russia  in  Asia"  enters  by  way  of  the  port  of  Vladivostok.  Our 
figures  of  exports  to  Asiatic  Russia,  which  amounted  to  only  about 
$1,000,000  per  annum  prior  to  the  war,  jumped  to  $44,000,000  in  the 
fiscal  year  1915,  and  $160,000,000  in  1916,  but  were  composed  chiefly 
of  war  material  for  Russia  in  Europe  which  passed  by  way  of  Vladi- 
vostok rather  than  to  face  the  dangers  of  submarines  in  an  attempt 
to  cross  the  Atlantic.  With  the  suspension  of  Russia's  participation  in 
the  Great  War,  our  total  exports  to  Russia  in  Asia  dropped  to  $8,433,- 
ooo  in  the  fiscal  year  1918  but  advanced  to  $32,000,000,  however,  in 
the  fiscal  year  1920.  Our  imports  from  Asiatic  Russia  are  very  small, 
ranging  as  high,  however,  as  $12,000,000  in  1920.  Japan  also  supplies 

[30 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


large  quantities  of  merchandise  to  Asiatic  Russia,  her  figures  showing 
exports  of  about  $20,000,000  to  Asiatic  Russia  in  1918  and  $35,000,000 
in  1919. 

The  United  States  supplied,  immediately  preceding  the  war,  about 
17%  of  the  merchandise  entering  Japan,  6%  of  the  merchandise 
entering  China,  3%  of  that  imported  by  India,  2%  of  that  of  the 
Dutch  East  Indies.  Now,  however,  our  share  of  the  imports  of  these 
respective  countries  is  much  greater,  the  latest  available  figures  of 
the  trade  of  these  countries  showing  that  we  are  now  supplying  35% 
of  the  imports  of  Japan,  17%  of  those  of  China,  8%  of  those  of  India, 
12%  of  the  imports  of  Dutch  East  Indies,  these  figures  in  nearly  all 
cases  relating  to  the  year  1919.  In  general  terms,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  Far  East  has  not  only  doubled  the  value  of  its  imports  since  the 
beginning  of  the  war  but  is  taking  from  the  United  States  twice  as 
large  a  share  of  that  increased  total  as  it  took  of  the  smaller  total  in  the 
pre-war  years,  thus  indicating  that  the  value  of  the  merchandise  which 
it  now  takes  from  the  United  States  is  more  than  four  times  as  great 
as  that  which  it  took  from  us  prior  to  the  war,  while  Germany  and 
Austria-Hungary  and  Belgium  have,  of  course,  dropped  out  entirely, 
that  from  France  and  Italy  being  materially  reduced  and  Great 
Britain  also  somewhat  less  than  in  the  pre-war  period,  though  Japan 
has  meantime  greatly  increased  her  sales  of  manufactures  to  the  local 
markets  of  her  immediate  neighbors — China,  the  Dutch  East  Indies 
and  British  India. 

TRANSPORTATION 

THE  transportation  systems  of  the  Far  Easf  are  of  very 
great  importance  in  their  relation  to  its  commerce,  present  and 
future.  These  include,  of  course,  water,  rail  and  highway  transporta- 
tion, though  until  recently  the  system  which  has  been  most  effective 
in  the  growth  of  Occidental  commerce  and  industries,  the  railway, 
has  shown  less  development  in  the  Far  East  than  in  most  other  parts 
of  the  world.  Reliance  upon  water  transportation  is  especially  a 
characteristic  of  China,  Indo-China,  Siam,  and  the  Philipfonles  while 
in  India  and  Japan  the  railway  transportation  has  made  great  de- 
velopments in  comparatively  recent  years.  The  backwardness  of 
railroad  development  in  the  Orient  is  due,  in  a  considerable  degree, 
to  the  lack  of  animal  power  to  move  products  from  the  place  of  pro- 
duction to  a  common  carrier,  and  in  many  of  the  countries  in  question 

[32] 


TRANSPORTATION 


the  highways  connecting  the  agricultural  sections  with  the  common 
carriers  either  by  water  or  rail  are  extremely  inefficient  and  the  num- 
ber of  animals  available  for  road  transportation  also  comparatively 
small.  In  the  densely  populated  areas  the  land  must  be  utilized  to 
supply  food  for  the  people,  hence  the  lack  of  animals  for  transporta- 
tion purposes. 

Rivers  and  Canals 

CHINA  has,  to  a  very  great  extent,  relied  upon  her  great  rivers, 
especially  the  Yang-tse-kiang,  and  in  a  lesser  degree  the  Hoangho. 
The  Yang-tse-kiang,  which  flows  through  the  most  densely  populated 
section  of  China,  the  part  usually  designated  as  "China  proper",  is 
the  main  waterway  of  China  both  in  navigability  and  length,  while 
the  Hoangho,  further  north,  is  less  available  for  navigation,  being 
comparatively  shallow  and  extremely  circuitous  in  its  course.  The 
Yang-tse-kiang  is  navigable  for  ocean  steamers  to  Hankow,  about  600 
miles  above  its  mouth,  while  smaller  steamers  operate  over  about  500 
miles  additional  to  I-chang,  which  lies  about  160  miles  northwest  of 
Hankow.  Native  boats  and  rafts  are  "tracked"  over  certain  sections 
of  the  river  above  this  point.  The  fleet  of  Yang-tse-kiang  steamships 
is  described  as  very  important  and  "comprising  some  of  the  largest 
river  steamboats  in  the  world",  and  the  same  authority  adds  that 
the  banks  of  this  river  "are  studded  with  cities,  towns  and  villages, 
while  its  waters  are  crowded  with  craft  in  almost  incredible  numbers." 

Canton,  the  principal  city  of  southern  China,  which  lies  about  $o 
miles  inland,  is  connected  with  the  sea  by  the  Canton  or  Pearl  River, 
and  receives  most  of  its  merchandise  by  that  stream. 

In  addition  to  these  river  transportation  facilities,  the  system  of 
canals,  which  is  described  more  fully  in  the  detailed  discussion  of 
conditions  in  China  on  another  page,  adds  greatly  to  China's  transpor- 
tation facilities. 

Roads 

HIGHWAYS,  however,  are  far  from  satisfactory  from  the  trans- 
portation standpoint  for  reasons  heretofore  noted.  In  fact,  in  all  of  the 
Far  East,  except  parts  of  India  and  Japan,  the  highways  are  very  un- 
satisfactory, and  especially  so  at  the  present  time  when  the  auto- 
mobile, for  both  passenger  and  freight  transportation,  might  supply 
the  motive  power. 

[33] 


TRADING  WITH  THE   FAR  EAST 


Railways 

IN  railroad  facilities,  the  greatest  development  up  to  the  present 
time  has  occurred  in  India  which  has  37,000  miles;  Japan's  railways, 
on  a  much  smaller  area,  are  about  8,000  miles;  those  of  China  approx- 
imately 7,000  miles;  the  Dutch  East  Indies  approximately  2,000  miles 
and  served  in  many  places  by  horseless  vehicles  which  bring  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  adjacent  sections  to  the  railway  station;  Siam  1,500  miles; 
French  Indo-China  1,300  miles;  Chosen  (Korea)  1,100  miles;  while  a 
railway  line  extending  southward  through  the  Federated  Malay 
States  and  the  Malayan  peninsula  connects  Siam  with  Singapore,  an 
extremely  important  port  of  call  for  steamships  from  every  part  of 
the  world. 

That  much  is  yet  to  be  wished  for,  however,  in  transportation  facil- 
ities in  the  Far  East  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  length  of  railroad 
for  each  1,000  square  miles  is  in  India  20  miles,  in  Japan  53,  and  in 
"China  proper",  exclusive  of  her  great  outlying  dependencies,  about 
3  miles  of  road  for  each  1,000  square  miles  as  against  75  in  the  United 
States,  190  in  Germany,  154  in  France  and  195  in  Great  Britain.  With 
the  application  of  the  horseless  vehicle  for  transportation  on  the  roads, 
however,  between  the  place  of  production  and  the  common  carrier, 
it  may  be  expected  that  railroad  transportation  facilities  will  be 
greatly  increased  and  the  producing  and  commercial  power  corres- 
pondingly multiplied. 

The  telegraph  facilities  of  all  the  countries  under  consideration 
are  comparatively  well  developed — India  90,000  miles  of  line  and 
360,000  miles  of  wire;  Japan  26,000  miles  of  line;  China  42,000  miles; 
Dutch  East  Indies  13,000;  and  the  Philippines  5,000. 

Steamships 

THE  ocean  transportation  facilities  in  most  of  the  countries  in 
question  are  exceptionally  good  as  compared  with  those  of  many  other 
parts  of  the  world.  The  trade  with  and  travel  to  and  from  the  Far  East 
has  been  for  many  years  of  sufficient  importance  and  interest  to  lead 
the  countries  having  great  steamship  lines  and  systems  to  give  especial 
consideration  to  that  section  of  the  world  and  British,  German,  French 
and,  in  lesser  degree,  Italian  and  American  steamships  cultivated  the 
Far  East  trade,  even  in  some  instances  braving  small  profits  or  even 
loss  for  the  purpose  of  building  up  and  permanently  maintaining  trade 
and  carrying  relations  with  that  growing  section  of  the  world  with  such 

[34] 


TRANSPORTATION 


great  promises  as  to  its  future.  The  great  steamship  system  of  Japan 
also  holds  high  rank  in  the  list  of  steamers  connecting  the  Far  Eastern 
ports  with  those  of  other  parts  of  the  world.  While  a  great  part  of  the 
German  shipping  formerly  serving  that  section  of  the  world  was 
chiefly  withdrawn  during  the  war,  its  place  has  been  taken  by  that 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  facilities  for  close  steamship  inter-com- 
munication between  the  Oriental  and  Occidental  world  may  be  de- 
scribed as  excellent. 

Flying  Possibilities 

THE  flying  machine  promises  to  be  of  extreme  importance  in  the 
future  development  of  the  Orient  and  its  producing  and  commercial 
powers.  The  interior  of  Asia  is,  as  has  been  already  indicated,  ex- 
tremely mountainous,  and  in  certain  sections  arid  or  at  least  semi- 
arid,  yet  capable  of  sustaining  a  limited  population  and  a  considerable 
supply  of  domestic  animals,  but  is  so  devoid  of  roads  and  transporta- 
tion facilities  that  little  opportunity  has  yet  been  had  to  closely 
investigate  its  mineral  supplies  and  possibilities.  This  is  equally  true 
of  the  extreme  north  of  the  continent,  a  "tundra"  region,  capable  of 
supporting  vast  herds  of  reindeer  which  are  now  proving  an  important 
factor  in  the  meat  supply  of  our  own  Alaska,  and  also  of  great  im- 
portance in  timber  and  perhaps  mineral  possibilities.  In  the  tropical 
sections  of  the  Far  East  as  well  as  elsewhere  difficulties  of  exploration 
and  transportation  have  been  equally  great,  and  may  be  to  an  equal 
extent,  solved  by  the  possibilities  of  the  flying  machine,  especially  as  to 
exploration,  while  the  rapid  development  in  the  use  of  the  aeroplane 
for  transportation  of  merchandise  also  suggests  that  it  will  prove  of 
material  aid  in  developing  the  commerce  as  well  as  the  producing  pow- 
ers of  all  the  Far  East,  whether  in  interior  Asia  or  the  adjacent  islands 
and  coastal  frontages. 

There  are  great  areas  still  comparatively  unexplored  and  absolutely 
undeveloped  in  the  big  islands  off  the  coast  of  Asia,  including  Borneo, 
Sumatra,  Celebes,  New  Guinea,  and  parts  of  our  own  Philippines,  in 
which  the  flying  machine  promises  to  prove  of  extreme  importance 
industrially  and  commercially.  Already  there  has  been  established  an 
air  route  from  the  great  cities  and  industrial  centers  of  the  United 
States  to  Alaska,  from  the  western  tip  of  which  the  aeroplane  could 
with  a  30  minute  flight  reach  the  eastern  tip  of  Asia.  The  great  nations 
which  participated  in  the  war  are  now  placing  at  the  service  of  the 

[35] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


commercial  and  industrial  world  thousands  of  flying  machines  at  a 
small  fraction  of  their  cost,  and  thus  promising  a  rapid  development 
in  this  new  means  of  exploration  and  transportation  in  all  parts  of  the 
yet  unexplored  and  undeveloped  sections  of  the  world,  and  especially 
the  Far  East. 

POPULATION 

/%  CCU  RATE  statistics  of  the  population  are  more  difficult  in  the 
jL\.  Far  East  than  in  certain  other  parts  of  the  world.  In  India,  peri- 
odical censuses  of  apparently  a  very  satisfactory  type  are  taken  by  the 
local  government  and  based  upon  British  census  methods.  In  Japan, 
population  statistics  are  also  frequently  taken  and  accepted  as  trust- 
worthy. A  census  of  the  Philippines  was  taken  in  1903.  In  Korea,  the 
enumeration  since  its  occupancy  by  Japan  has  given  a  closer  view  of 
population  than  formerly  existed.  A  census  of  certain  of  the  Dutch 
East  Indian  islands  supplemented  by  estimates  was  taken  in  1905. 
In  the  Siberian  area  fronting  upon  the  Pacific  figures  are  extremely 
unsatisfactory. 

The  population  of  China  has  been  estimated  for  many  years  at 
about  400,000,000.  United  States  Minister  Rockhill,  after  a  careful 
study  of  the  subject,  during  his  experiences  in  China,  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  former  estimates  of  400,000,000  were  excessive,  and 
that,  in  fact,  the  total  population  of  China  including  Manchuria, 
Chinese  Turkestan,  but  excluding  Mongolia  and  Tibet,  was  about 
325,000,000,  while  the  population  of  Mongolia  and  Tibet  probably 
does  not  exceed  4,000,000  or  5,000,000  making  his  estimate  of  the 
population  of  all  China  at  about  330,000,000.  The  Chinese  Govern- 
ment Gazette  of  February  27,  1911,  stated  the  population  of  the  then 
Chinese  Empire  at  321,000,000,  of  which  302,000,000  was  accredited 
to  "China  proper",  2,000,000  to  Tibet,  slightly  less  than  2,000,000 
to  Mongolia,  and  12,000,000  to  other  outlying  territories.  Later  esti- 
mates, however,  put  the  total  very  much  higher,  estimates  recently 
prepared  by  the  Chinese  maritime  customs  authorities  placing  the 
total  population  of  all  China  at  439,000,000,  with  19,000,000  for 
Manchuria  alone,  while  other  authorities  put  the  population  of 
Tibet  at  6,000,000,  Manchuria  2,600,000  and  Sin  Kiang,  or  the  New 
Dominion,  lying  between  Manchuria  and  Tibet,  at  about  1,200,000. 
These  extreme  differences  in  the  two  estimates,  each  by  an  official 
authority,  one  of  them  321,000,000  and  the  other  439,000,000,  shows 

[36] 


POPULATION 


how  difficult  it  is  to  attempt  to  measure  with  accuracy  populations  of 
any  section  of  the  Far  East,  except  India,  Japan,  Korea,  and  our  own 
Philippine  Islands. 

The  latest  figures  on  India  are  those  of  the  census  of  1911,  which 
show  244,000,000  in  British  India  and  in  the  "native  states"  (which 
are,  however,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  under  British  control)  about 
71,000,000,  bringing  the  1911  population  up  to  315,00x3,000,  while  the 
ratio  of  growth  in  the  decade  preceding  1911  would  justify  the  expec- 
tation that  the  1921  census  will  show  a  total  for  all  India  (including 
the  native  states)  of  about  335,000,000,  these  figures  including  Bur- 
ma, which,  although  a  part  of  the  great  Malayan  Peninsula,  is  con- 
trolled by  British  authority  and  included  as  part  of  the  political  gov- 
ernment designated  as  "British  India". 

Ranking  third  in  point  of  population  is  Japan  with  a  total  stated  at 
56,550,000  at  the  end  of  1917,  indicating  that  the  total  at  the  end  of 
1920  will  approximate  60,000,000.  In  addition  to  this,  the  population 
of  Chosen,  now  controlled  by  Japan,  17,000,000  and  Formosa,  belong- 
ing to  Japan,  nearly  4,000,000,  indicating  that  the  total  population 
in  the  area  under  immediate  control  of  Japan  is  in  round  terms,  about 
80,000,000. 

Next  in  order  in  point  of  numbers  is  the  population  of  the  Dutch 
East  Indies,  which  is  variously  estimated,  having  been  stated  by  the 
census  of  1905  at  38,000,000  and  officially  estimated  for  1917  at 
47,000,000,  indicating  a  total  of  about  50,000,000  at  the  present  time, 
of  which  about  35,000,000  are  in  the  island  of  Java.  The  growth  of 
population,  especially  in  Java,  is  extremely  rapid. 

The  population  of  the  Philippine  Islands  is  estimated  at  about 
10,000,000;  that  of  French  Indo-China  at  17,000,000  in  1914;  Siam 
9,000,000;  the  Federated  Malay  States  1,000,000;  the  other  Malay 
States  about  1,000,000;  and  Ceylon  about  4,000,000. 

Thus  the  total  population  of  the  coastal  region  stretching  from  west- 
ern India  to  northern  Japan  and  the  adjacent  Siberian  frontage  is 
variously  estimated  at  from  800,000,000  to  850,000,000.  In  certain 
sections  of  this  area  the  density  of  population  is  extremely  great,  in 
the  island  of  Java  alone  nearly  700  per  square  mile,  in  the  Province  of 
Shantung,  China,  about  500  per  square  mile,  and  in  several  of  the 
other  provinces  of  China  about  400  per  square  mile,  and  in  certain 
provinces  of  India  over  500  per  square  mile.  The  average  density  of 
population  in  the  entire  Far  Eastern  area  here  discussed  is  about  250 

[37] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


per  square  mile  as  against  about  31  per  square  mile  in  continental 
United  States,  exclusive  of  Alaska. 

CURRENCY 

SILVER  has  been  the  chief  currency  of  the  Far  East  from  the 
earliest  years  of  its  international  trade,  and  still  is,  each  country 
or  colony  having  its  individual  silver  standard.  Japan  in  1897  adopted 
the  gold  standard  but  retained  large  quantities  of  silver  in  conjunction 
with  the  basic  gold  yen;  China  utilized  silver,  with  copper  or  brass 
coins  as  the  subsidiary  currency;  the  JPhilippines  utilized  silver  cur- 
rency under  the  Spanish  and  were,  after  coming  under  the  control  of 
the  United  States,  given  a  currency  composed  largely  of  silver  but 
with  a  gold  basis;  Hongkong  has  its  silver  dollar  and  there  are  also 
various  Chinese  dollars  and  small  silver  coins  as  fractions  of  the  dollar; 
in  French  Indo-China,  Siam,  and  the  Malayan  peninsula  silver  still 
circulates  freely;  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies  the  currency  standard  of 
the  Mother  Country  was  maintained  but  with  extremely  limited  sup- 
plies of  gold  and  much  larger  quantities  of  silver;  in  India  the  silver 
rupee  and  fractional  currency  based  thereon  is  still  the  chief  form  of 
currency. 

In  comparatively  recent  years,  however,  the  use  of  paper  currency 
has  increased  greatly  and  especially  during  the  recent  war  period,  and 
in  all  the  principal  countries  a  paper  currency  now  exists  issued  in 
most  cases  by  governmental  authority  through  the  machinery  of  the 
bank. 

MONETARY  SYSTEMS 

IN  CHINA  the  monetary  unit  is  not  a  coin  but  a  weight  of  silver, 
called  the  tael.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  fluctuations  in  the  price 
of  silver  affect  directly  the  value  of  Chinese  money.  The  tael  is  divided, 
theoretically,  decimally,  but  in  practice  the  coinage  varies  widely  in 
its  value  relative  to  the  standard  unit.  The  complications  of  the  system 
arise  from  the  fact  that  the  tael  is  not  a  coin,  and  that  the  weight  itself 
as  well  as  the  fineness  of  silver,  varies  in  practically  every  important 
business  center  in  China.  There  are  some  sixty-five  different  tael 
values  in  China  and  the  inevitable  result  is  that  each  commercial 
transaction  between  one  place  and  another  involves  an  exchange 
transaction  owing  to  the  different  monetary  values. 

[38] 


MONETARY  SYSTEMS 


The  currency  unit  in  China  has  for  many  years  been  the  dollar — 
formerly  the  dollar  coined  in  Mexico,  but  latterly  there  has  been  the 
increasing  use  of  the  Chinese  Republic  dollar  (designated  the  "yuan**) 
which  is  slowly  being  standardized  and  even  more  slowly  is  becoming 
acceptable  as  a  means  of  payment.  Following  the  increased  use  of  the 
Chinese  dollar,  has  been  the  increase  in  the  displacement  by  the 
dollar  of  the  tael  as  the  money  of  account. 

As  a  result  of  the  peculiar  extra-territorial  situation  in  the  important 
Chinese  ports,  foreign  banks  are  permitted  to  issue  notes  and  these 
have  become,  so  far  as  the  trade  ports  are  concerned,  the  commonest 
circulating  medium  in  all  but  small  transactions.  Large  balances  are 
still  settled,  however,  by  the  use  of  silver  metal  cast  into  lumps 
(called  shoes),  each  approximating  50  taels  in  weight.  The  Bank  of 
China  and  the  Bank  of  Communications  aiso  have  the  note  issue  priv- 
ilege, but  this  paper  money  has  not  yet  become  firmly  established  in 
the  public  confidence,  having  often  gone  to  a  serious  discount. 

In  Japan  where  the  currency  is  on  a  gold  basis,  the  unit  is  the  yen 
(value  in  U.  S.  currency  49.8  cents)  and  the  subsidiary  coinage  is  a 
decimal  division  of  the  unit,  the  coins  themselves  being  similar  in  size 
to  American  subsidiary  coins  and  the  values  being  approximately  one- 
half  of  the  American  coin  values.  There  is  also  a  note  issued  by  the 
government  bank,  and  during  the  scarcity  of  metal  incident  to  the  war 
and  to  the  consumption  in  India  and  China  the  Bank  of  Japan  was 
forced  to  issue  subsidiary  notes  down  even  to  the  value  of  ten  sen,  or 
five  cents  American. 

Philippine  coinage  is  similar  in  unit  value  to  the  Japanese,  being 
about  one-half  of  American  coin  values,  the  unit  in  the  Islands  being 
called  the  peso. 

The  British  Colony  of  Hongkong  coins  a  silver  dollar  and  subsidiary 
coinage,  and  maintains  a  position  of  isolation  in  the  money  world,  the 
dollar  value  being  about  that  of  the  peso,  or  the  American  half-dollar. 

The  Straits  Settlements  use  the  Straits  dollar  as  their  monetary 
unit  and  there  is  throughout  this  entire  section  of  the  Far  East  from 
the  Straits  to  Japan,  an  approximation  of  the  theoretical  values  of  all 
units,  be  they  dollars,  pesos  or  yen.  It  is  understood,  of  course,  that  the 
exchange  values  vary  widely. 

The  Dutch  East  Indies  uses  as  a  monetary  unit  the  guilder  or  florin 
and  this  with  its  divisional  coinage,  from  a  monetary  point  of  view,  is 
the  same  as  that  in  use  in  Holland. 

[39] 


Branches  of  the  International  Banking  Corporation 

GENERAL  DRAFTING  CO.INC.N.Y. 


Map  of  the  "Far  East"  showing  Br 


[40] 


iternational  Banking  Corporation 


[41] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


In  India  the  currency  unit  is  the  rupee,  divided  into  sixteen  annas, 
each  anna  being  composed  of  twelve  pies.  The  exchange  value  of  the 
rupee  was  for  a  long  time  maintained  at  fifteen  to  a  sovereign,  this 
being  supported  by  the  gold  standard  reserve  fund  which  stood  in 
1919  at  over  £35,000,000,  but  the  currency  is  now,  theoretically,  on  a 
gold  basis  and  the  value  of  the  rupee  is  ten  to  the  sovereign,  bringing 
it  approximately  into  line  with  the  other  eastern  monetary  units, 
that  is,  slightly  less  than  one-half  of  the  American  dollar.  But  with  the 
decrease  in  India's  export  trade  balance  and  the  consequent  increased 
demand  for  sterling,  the  exchange  value  of  the  rupee  is  dropping 
toward  the  old  level. 

BANKING  FACILITIES 

AMERICAN  banking  facilities  in  the  Far  East  are  somewhat 
XjL  better  in  China  than  elsewhere  and  for  perfectly  obvious 
reasons.  In  Japan  the  situation  is  dominated  by  the  home  banks 
strongly  supported  by  the  government  through  the  Bank  of  Japan; 
in  India  British  domination  is  logical;  in  the  Dutch  Colonies  a 
similar  situation  exists,  also  in  the  French  Colonies,  in  which  com- 
mercial development  has  been  slow. 

But  in  China,  a  faint  but  unbroken  survival  of  American  enterprise 
has  kept  American  trade  alive.  An  American  bank,  the  International 
Banking  Corporation,  now  owned  by  The  National  City  Bank  of 
New  York,  has  been  established  over  eighteen  years,  and  recently 
other  American  banks  have  opened  there,  so  that  the  American  trader 
is  well  served.  In  China  the  British-owned  banks  naturally  occupy  the 
most  important  position  in  financing  foreign  trade,  for  the  unceasing 
activity  of  British  trade  there  for  so  many  years  made  it  more  im- 
portant to  China  than  that  of  any  other,  the  only  serious  competition 
having  arisen  recently  from  Japan. 

The  chief  British  banks  in  China  are  the  Hongkong  &  Shanghai 
Banking  Corporation,  established  fifty-three  years,  the  Chartered 
Bank  of  India,  Australia  and  China,  Ltd.,  and  the  Mercantile  Bank 
of  India,  Ltd.  The  American  banks  are  the  International  Bankihg 
Corporation,  the  Asia  Banking  Corporation,  American  Foreign  Bank- 
ing Corporation,  the  Oriental  Banking  Corporation  and  the  Park- 
Union  Banking  Corporation.  The  American  Express  Company  also 
maintains  offices  in  China  and  there  is  also  the  new  Sino-American 

[42] 


BANKING  FACILITIES 


Bank,  recently  established  by  American  and  Chinese  capitalists.  Of 
other  foreign  banks,  there  are  two  Belgian,  three  French,  one  Russian, 
one  Dutch  and  seven  Japanese  banks,  including  three  of  recent  estab- 
lishment. 

The  Chinese  have  a  banking  system  of  great  antiquity  and  at  pres- 
ent two  semi-governmental  banks,  the  Bank  of  China  and  the  Bank 
of  Communications,  are  operating  with  foreign  methods  and  inci- 
dentally with  considerable  success.  The  smaller  Chinese  banks  are 
innumerable,  covering  the  entire  country.  Owing  to  the  intense  com- 
plication of  the  monetary  system,  there  is  a  universal  opportunity  for 
exchange  profits,  even  between  practically  contiguous  towns,  and  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  the  entire  movement  of  trade  in  the  interior 
of  China  is  financed  by  the  Chinese  banks. 

The  relations  of  the  foreign  banks  or  of  the  better  established  of  the 
foreign  trading  firms  with  the  Chinese  banks  in  the  interior,  are  simple 
and  cordial,  and  such  financing  as  is  necessary  is  easily  and  efficiently 
done.  All  payments  for  merchandise  in  the  interior  are  made  in  silver, 
and  this  is  accomplished  with  extraordinary  facility  and  certainty  by 
those  who  are  familiar  with  the  local  customs. 

In  the  most  important  silk  district  in  China,  that  surrounding 
Wusieh,  silver  for  the  purchase  of  the  cocoon  crop  is  sent  out  in 
launches  through  the  canals  and  distributed  to  coolies  waiting  in  dug- 
outs at  the  entrances  to  the  smaller  canals  and  creeks — as  much  as 
$5,000  or  $10,000  to  a  canoe — and  is  carried  in  them  to  the  buying 
stations  situated  at  varying  distances  from  the  main  lines  of  com- 
munication. There  is  no  obvious  security  in  this  method  of  transpor- 
tation, but  in  more  than  forty  years  the  only  record  of  loss  in  that 
district  has  been  one  robbery  of  $500  out  of  the  many  millions  so 
naively  handled. 

Another  instance  of  efficiency:  In  Hangchow  a  silk  buyer  of  a  large 
British  firm  goes  to  the  local  office  of  the  Chinese  bank,  introduces 
himself  to  the  manager  and  writes  out  on  a  page  of  his  note-book,  a 
sight  draft  on  his  firm  in  Shanghai  for  $150,000  and  explains  through 
an  interpreter  that  he  wishes  the  silver  sent  out  to  his  buying  station 
in  the  country  in  three  lots  of  $50,000  each,  on  three  specified  days. 
No  further  formality  is  used  and  on  each  of  the  appointed  days,  the 
bags  of  dollars  are  delivered  at  the  appointed  place  without  fail. 

The  business  in  China  between  foreigners  and  Chinese  has  always 
been  conducted  through  the  medium  of  a  compradore,  this  being  a 

[43] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


survival  of  the  early  trade  in  Canton  when  an  official  representative 
of  the  Chinese  government  was  appointed  to  deal  with  the  foreigner, 
and  furthermore,  to  be  responsible  to  his  own  government  for  all  of  the 
dealings  undertaken  by  the  firm.  The  office  was  the  outgrowth  partly 
of  suspicion,  partly  of  the  language  difficulty  and  partly  of  the  feeling 
of  superiority  which  existed  on  both  sides.  The  modern  compradore 
is  bonded,  and  usually  guarantees  to  his  firm  all  the  transactions  ini- 
tiated by  him.  This  is  a  useful  arrangement  in  the  absence  of  any 
reliable  source  of  credit  information. 

A  new  situation  has,  however,  begun  to  exist  within  the  last  few 
years  in  which  the  development  of  Chinese  familiarity  with  foreign 
methods  and  with  the  English  language  has  made  it  easier  for  dealings 
to  be  made  direct  between  the  interested  parties.  Enterprising  German 
traders  in  China  set  an  example  during  the  few  years  preceding  the 
war  and  their  direct  transactions  not  only  proved  profitable  but  were 
also  a  great  aid  to  them  in  the  development  of  their  China  trade. 
More  recently  some  of  the  largest  British  firms  in  China  have  seen 
the  wisdom  of  direct  dealing  and  are  now  laying  emphasis  on  the  learn- 
ing of  the  Chinese  language  by  their  foreign  staff.  It  is  not  unlikely 
that  in  the  near  future  the  firms  which  fail  to  equip  themselves  thus, 
will  find  themselves  at  a  serious  disadvantage  in  developing  their  busi- 
ness in  China,  especially  those  firms  which  either  purchase  or  dis- 
tribute merchandise  outside  of  the  larger  treaty  ports. 

As  commercial  development  in  Japan  has  occurred  entirely  during 
recent  times,  the  Japanese  banks  are,  of  course,  operating  on  modern 
lines,  and  they  already  finance,  quite  logically,  by  far  the  greatest  part 
of  the  country's  foreign  trade.  There  is  however,  still  an  important 
place  in  that  trade  for  foreign  banks  and  the  list  of  those  operating  in 
Japan  is  much  the  same  as  that  in  China,  including  the  International 
Banking  Corporation  and  the  Park  Union  Banking  Corporation  as 
the  American  representatives.  The  frequently  published  reports  that 
Japanese  banks  prefer  Chinese  cashiers  are  unfounded.  The  Japanese 
banks  are  operated  entirely  by  Japanese,  although  in  a  few  instances 
foreigners,  both  Chinese  and  others,  are  employed  in  subordinate 
positions. 

In  the  French  Colonies  in  Indo-China,  there  are  French  banks  as 
well  as  two  British  banks,  but  inasmuch  as  American  trade  has  been 
comparatively  unimportant  no  American  bank  has  as  yet  been  estab- 
lished there. 

[44] 


GENERAL  SURVEY 


Tn  t^  Philippines  there  are  representing  the  United  States,  the 
International  Banking  Corporation,  the  Asia  Banking  Corporation 
and  the  American  Foreign  Banking  Corporation;  the  British:  the 
Hongkong  &  Shanghai  Banking  Corporation  and  the  Chartered  Bank 
of  India,  Australia  and  China;  the  Filipino  semi-governmental: 
Philippine  National  Bank  and  the  old  established  Spanish  Bank  of 
the  Philippine  Islands,  which  so  far  have  been  adequate  to  the 
demands  of  Philippine  commerce. 

In  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  the  powerful  Netherlands  Trading  So- 
ciety holds  a  strong  position.  The  International  Banking  Corporation 
is  established  there,  as  well  as  the  British  banks.  In  the  Straits 
Settlements,  the  International  Banking  Corporation  has  a  branch  at 
Singapore,  whereas  the  British  banks  are  well  established  throughout 
the  peninsula. 

India,  of  course,  is  the  stronghold  of  British  banking  and  the  only 
American  bank  there  is  the  International  Banking  Corporation,  which 
has  branches  at  Bombay  and  Calcutta  as  well  as  in  the  Burmese  port 
of  Rangoon.  f 

?>*. 

AREA,  POPULATION  AND  COMMERCE  OF  THE 
FAR  EASTERN  COUNTRIES 

WHILE  the  general  facts  regarding  the  people  and  commerce 
of  the  area  which  we  designate  as  the  Far  East  are  presented 
in  the  foregoing  discussion,  it  seems  proper  to  set  forth  in  concise 
terms  such  information  regarding  the  respective  countries  as  may 
be  desired  by  those  giving  consideration  to  their  possibilities  and 
probabilities  as  future  markets,  especially  for  products  of  the  United 
States.  In  the  paragraphs  which  follow,  therefore,  information  of 
this  character  is  presented  necessarily  in  extremely  condensed  form 
but  additional  details  will  be  supplied  on  application  to  the  statistical 
department  of  The  National  City  Bank.  The  countries  are  enumerated 
in  their  order  moving  eastward  from  India  along  the  southern  frontage 
of  Asia  and  northward  along  its  eastern  frontage.  Statistical  state- 
ments occupying  the  closing  pages  show  the  trade  of  the  United  States 
with  each  of  the  countries,  covering  a  term  of  years,  and  the  chief 
articles  forming  the  trade;  also  the  percentage  of  the  United  States  in 
the  trade  of  each  country  in  recent  years. 

[45] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


India 

THE  peninsula  of  India  is  chiefly  under  British  control,  and 
its  government  is  administered  under  the  title  of  the  Indian  Empire. 
Its  administration  is  entrusted  to  a  Secretary  of  State  for  India, 
assisted  by  a  council  named  by  him.  The  government  thus  created 
includes  not  only  the  British  territory  in  the  peninsula  of  India  but 
also  Burma,  British  territory  lying  at  the  east  across  the  Bay  of  Ben- 
gal from  the  peninsula  of  India.  The  area  of  Burma  alone  covers 
231,000  square  miles  and  its  population  in  1911  was  12,000,000.  The 
area  of  British  India,  including  Burma,  is  1,093,000  square  miles,  with 
a  population  in  1911,  the  latest  census,  of  244,000,000.  In  addition, 
however,  there  are  within  the  peninsula  a  considerable  number  of 
areas  still  designated  as  "Native  States"  or  Indian  States,  which, 
however,  are  more  or  less  under  the  control  of  the  Indian  Government. 
They  have  an  aggregate  area  of  710,000  square  miles  and  a  population 
in  1911  of  7 1 ,000,000,  making  the  total  population  of  the  peninsula  of 
India  and  the  adjacent  province  of  Burma  315,000,000  in  1911,  and 
estimated  at  about  335,000,000  at  the  present  time.  The  Native  States 
lie  chiefly  within  the  interior  and  are  reached  by  rail,  telegraph  and 
postal  facilities  from  the  various  ports  and  cities  of  British  India. 
They  are  governed  as  a  rule  by  native  princes  with  the  help  of  a 
political  officer  appointed  by  the  British  Government. 

The  occupation  of  the  people  is  largely  agriculture,  the  Statesman's 
Year  Book  putting  the  total  population  supported  by  agriculture  in 
1911  at  225,000,000.  Cotton,  wheat,  rice,  jute,  sugar  cane,  tea  and  oil 
seeds  are  the  principal  agricultural  products.  Of  the  area  cropped, 
which  amounts  to  230,000,000  acres,  about  50,000,000  acres  are  irri- 
gated. The  chief  manufacturing  industries  are  the  weaving  of  cotton 
cloths  and  the  manufacture  of  jute.  The  mineral  products  are  of  com- 
paratively small  importance,  their  relative  importance  being  coal, 
gold,  petroleum  and  manganese  ore. 

The  modern  factory  system  has,  in  a  very  large  degree,  supplanted 
the  hand  trades  of  India,  the  number  of  cotton  mills  being  stated  at 
236,  employing  256,000  persons;  the  number  of  spindles  6,650,000; 
the  cloth  produced  in  1918,  381,000,000  pounds;  and  the  yarn  pro- 
duction, 660,000,000  pounds.  India  exports  large  quantities  of  cotton 
yarn,  especially  to  China.  The  estimated  capital  of  the  cotton  mills 
of  India  is  about  $75,000,000.  The  jute  mills  employ  about  265,000 
people,  utilizing  a  capital  of  approximately  $50,000,000.  There  are 

[46] 


GENERAL  SURVEY INDIA CEYLON 


also  a  large  number  of  minor  manufacturing  industries  including  paper 
mills,  iron  and  brass  founderies,  petroleum  refineries,  tile  and  brick 
factories,  sugar  factories,  and  breweries. 

Notwithstanding  the  activity  of  these  manufacturing  industries, 
finished  manufactures  form  the  bulk  of  India's  imports,  the  value  of 
manufactured  articles  imported  in  1918  having  been  about  $350,000,- 
ooo  of  which  cotton  goods  alone  were  nearly  $200,000,000.  Manufac- 
tures of  iron  and  steel  of  all  kinds  are  greatly  in  demand,  also  clothing, 
boots  and  shoes,  machinery  and  mill  work,  illuminating  and  lubricat- 
ing oil,  gasoline,  and  other  petroleum  products.  The  sugar  imports 
amount  to  nearly  $50,000,000  per  annum  despite  the  fact  that  India 
ranks  second  among  the  cane  sugar  producers  of  the  world,  her  large 
population  consuming  all  of  her  domestic  production  and  importing 
quantities  from  other  sections  of  the  Far  East,  notably  Java  and 
Mauritius. 

The  total  commerce  of  India,  as  stated  in  the  detailed  discussion 
on  preceding  pages  on  the  trade  of  the  respective  countries,  totaled 
in  1919  $548,000,000  of  imports,  of  which  $52,000,000  was  from  the 
United  States,  and  the  exports  $823,000,000,  of  which  $108,000,000 
was  to  the  United  States.  Great  Britain  of  course  supplies  a  very  large 
proportion  of  the  imports,  $250,000,000  in  1919,  though  Japan  has 
greatly  increased  her  share  of  the  imports  during  the  war,  her  total 
in  1919  having  been  $108,000,000.  The  principal  exports  from  the 
United  States  to  India  are  manufactures  of  iron  and  steel  of  all 
^classes,  mineral  oils,  automobiles,  dyes  and  dyestuffs,  electrical  ma- 
chinery, condensed  milk,  and  paper  (see  tables  on  another  page  for 
details  of  late  years).  The  principal  imports  into  the  United  States 
from  India  are  jute  and  manufactures  of  jute  (especially  burlaps), 
hides  and  skins  (especially  goat  skins),  india-rubber,  gums  (especially 
shellac)  and  tea.  The  principal  ports  are  Bombay  and  Karachi  on  the 
western  coast  and  Calcutta  and  Madras  on  the  eastern  frontage,  also 
Rangoon,  the  chief  city  and  port  of  Burma.  The  distance  from  New 
York  to  Bombay  by  way  of  the  Suez  Canal  is  8,120  miles  and  to  Cal- 
cutta, 9,830. 

Ceylon 

CEYLON  is  an  island  of  25,000  square  miles,  lying  immediately 
south  of  India;  and  is  a  British  colony.  Its  population  is  3,600,000  and 
production  chiefly  rice,  cacao,  cinnamon,  tea,  cocoanuts,  and  rubber. 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


Imports  approximate  $65,000,000  per  annum;  exports  $100,000,000 
per  annum.  The  principal  imports  are  cotton  manufactures,  rice,  coal, 
spirits,  sugar  and  manures.  A  very  large  proportion  of  the  imports  are 
drawn  from  the  adjacent  colony  of  India,  but  those  from  the  Occi- 
dental countries  are  chiefly  from  Great  Britain  ($10,000,000),  the 
United  States  ($2,000,000),  and  (prior  to  the  war)  about  $2,000,000 
from  Germany.  The  imports  from  the  United  States  have  grown  from 
$750,000  in  1913  to  their  present  value  as  above  stated.  The  chief  port 
is  Colombo.  The  railroads  aggregate  720  miles.  The  currency  is  the 
Indian  rupee. 

The  Malayan  Peninsula 

THE  Malayan  Peninsula,  which  lies  next  beyond  Ceylon  in  the 
route  which  we  travel  to  the  Far  East,  includes  three  distinct  areas. 
At  the  extreme  south  is  the  city  and  port  of  Singapore  with  the 
immediately  surrounding  area,  designated  as  the  Straits  Settlements, 
a  British  crown  colony,  comprising  the  ports  of  Singapore  and  Penang. 
Singapore  is  an  island  of  about  200  square  miles  separated  from  the 
peninsula  by  a  strait  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  width.  The  islands 
of  Singapore  and  Penang  and  the  continental  area  immediately  north, 
including  Malacca,  are  designated  as  the  Straits  Settlements,  admin- 
istered by  a  governor  appointed  by  the  British  authorities.  The  entire 
area  of  the  islands  and  adjacent  territory  included  within  the  political 
divisions  has  a  population  of  slightly  less  than  1,000,000.  The  popu- 
lation of  Singapore  is  about  385,000,  Penang  300,000,  and  Malacca 
1 50,000. 

Lying  immediately  north  of  these  is  a  group  of  native  states,  Perak. 
Selangor,  Negri  Sembilan,  and  Pahang,  designated  as  the  Federated 
Malay  States.  Their  aggregate  area  is  about  28,000  square  miles  with 
a  total  population  of  slightly  more  than  1,000,000,  composed  chiefly 
of  Malays,  Chinese,  and  natives  of  India,  with  3,000  Europeans  and 
Americans,  and  2,600  Eurasians.  The  imports  of  the  Federated  Malay 
States  aggregate  about  $40,000,000  per  annum  and  include  chiefly 
cotton  piece  goods,  sugar,  condensed  milk,  tobacco,  petroleum,  ma- 
chinery, iron  and  steel  manufactures,  rice  and  sugar.  Their  exports, 
which  aggregate  over  $100,000,000  per  annum,  include  chiefly  rubber, 
copra,  tin  and  tin  ore,  rice,  tapioca  and  coffee. 

Still  farther  north  is  another  group  of  native  states  designated  as 
Malay  States,  not  included  in  the  Federation,  stretching  from  the 


GENERAL  SURVEY MALAYAN  PENINSULA 


Federated  States  northward  along  the  eastern  frontage  of  the  Malayan 
Peninsula  to  the  boundary  of  Siam.  The  total  area  of  the  five  states, 
Johore,  Kedah,  Perils,  Kelantan  and  Trengganu,  is  about  25,000 
square  miles,  with  an  aggregate  population  of  about  1,000,000.  Their 
imports  aggregate  about  $15,000,000  per  annum,  including  cotton 
goods  and  manufactures  of  iron  and  steel,  and  their  exports,  which 
consist  largely  of  rubber,  copra,  tin,  gums  and  spices,  about  an  equal 
sum. 

A  railway  line  now  extends  from  Singapore  northward  through  the 
Federated  Malay  States  and  thence  through  the  group  of  "Malay 
States  not  included  in  the  Federation"  to  Siam,  running  not  only  to  its 
capital,  Bangkok,  but  also  still  farther  into  the  interior  and  to  within 
a  comparatively  short  distance  of  its  northern  border.  This  road, 
only  recently  opened,  gives  a  direct  communication  for  merchandise 
from  Singapore  through  the  interior  of  this  peninsula  which  stretches 
northward  from  Singapore  a  distance  of  over  1,000  miles,  and  thence 
to  Bangkok,  the  capital  and  chief  city  of  Siam.  The  commercial 
importance  of  the  Peninsula  lies  in  its  tin  mines  and  valuable  tropical 
products  while  its  imports,  suited  to  the  wants  of  its  population,  com- 
posed mainly  of  Malays,  Chinese  and  East  Indians,  are  cotton  and 
silk  goods,  manufactures  of  iron  and  steel,  tobacco  and  petroleum. 
It  is  being  developed  by  the  construction  of  roads  for  automobiles, 
passenger  and  freight,  while  the  railroad  line  running  through  the 
interior,  coupled  with  the  possibilities  of  water  transportation,  gives 
promise  of  a  rapid  growth  in  its  industries  and  commerce. 

Singapore  lying  at  the  southern  end  of  the  Malayan  Peninsula,  the 
capital  of  the  British  colony  of  the  Straits  Settlements,  is  an  extremely 
important  port  and  city,  both  as  a  distributor  of  commerce  for  the 
people  of  the  Malayan  Peninsula  and  Siam  and  also  as  a  point  of  trans- 
fer for  merchandise  of  all  kinds  reaching  that  turning  point  in  the 
vessel  routes  between  the  Occidental  world  and  the  great  section  at 
the  southeast  designated  as  Oceania.  Vessels  from  the  United  States 
and  western  Europe  reaching  Singapore  carry  merchandise  destined 
in  part  for  the  eastern  frontage  of  Asia  and  in  part  for  the  Dutch  East 
Indies  and  Australasia,  and  necessarily  a  part  of  this  is  transferred  at 
Singapore,  which  has  excellent  warehousing  and  dock  facilities,  for 
temporary  storage  or  direct  to  vessels  destined  for  the  ports  to  which 
it  is  consigned,  while  the  vessels  coming  from  Australia,  New  Zealand, 
the  Dutch  East  Indies  and  the  eastern  frontages  of  Asia  bring  mer- 

[49] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


chandise  from  those  sections  to  Singapore  to  be  there  transferred  to 
vessels  bound  for  Europe  and  America.  The  island  on  which  the  city 
stands  is  about  one  mile  off  the  mainland  of  the  Malayan  Peninsula. 

This  merchandise  entered  at  the  port  of  Singapore  for  transfer 
to  other  parts  is  in  most  instances  at  least  recorded  as  an  import  and 
again  as  an  export,  and,  when  coupled  with  that  required  for  the  popu- 
lation immediately  dependent  upon  Singapore,  shows  very  large  totals. 
The  recorded  imports  of  the  Straits  Settlements  range  at  about  $400,- 
000,000  per  annum,  and  the  exports  about  an  equal  sum.  The  principal 
imports,  stated  in  the  order  of  their  relative  value,  are  rice  $55,000,- 
ooo,  tin  ore  $50,000,000  (both  of  which,  however,  are  for  reshipment, 
the  rice  to  adjacent  Oriental  countries  and  the  tin  chiefly  to  the 
United  States  and  western  Europe),  and  cotton  piece  goods  about 
$20,000,000  per  annum  (chiefly  for  use  of  the  population  of  the  Ma- 
layan Peninsula  and  adjacent  areas,  including  considerable  quantities 
to  Siam,  French  Indo-China,  and  the  Dutch  East  Indies).  Sugar  is 
also  set  down  at  about  $20,000,000,  but  this  is  chiefly  drawn  from 
Java  and  passed  on  to  other  points,  a  part  to  India  and  a  part  to 
Hongkong  and  southern  China.  The  exports,  stated  in  their  order  of 
relative  value  include  india-rubber  and  other  gums  (chiefly  rubber 
however),  $100,000,000,  tin  (a  part  the  product  of  the  Malayan  Pen- 
insula and  a  part  drawn  from  the  nearby  Dutch  Islands)  $65,000,000, 
spices  $12,000,000,  copra  $5,000,000,  tapioca  $4,000,000,  rattans  $2,- 
000,000,  gambier  (used  chiefly  for  tanning  and  dyeing)  $2,000,000,  and 
sago  $2,000,000.  Our  own  trade  with  the  Straits  Settlements  has  grown 
very  rapidly  since  the  beginning  of  the  war  and  aggregated  in  1920 
$188,000,000  of  imports  therefrom  and  $15,000,000  of  exports  thereto. 

The  two  groups  of  Malay  States  occupying  the  Malayan  Peninsula, 
except  that  extremely  small  part  designated  as  Straits  Settlements, 
are  under  British  protection  and  certain  British  control.  In  the  Fed- 
erated Malay  States  the  supreme  authority  in  each  state  is  vested  in 
the  State  Council,  which  consists  of  the  Sultan,  the  Resident  and  his 
secretary,  and  some  of  the  principal  Malay  chiefs  and  Chinese  mer- 
chants. The  residents  are  under  the  control  of  the  Chief  Secretary  and 
British  High  Commissioner,  who  is  ex-oflicio,  the  British  official  ad- 
ministering the  government  of  the  Straits  Settlements.  In  the  Malay 
States  not  included  in  the  Federation,  the  Rulers  are  assisted  by  State 
Councils  and  the  Ruler  has  the  assistance  of  the  British  Advisor  ap- 
pointed by  the  British  Government. 

[50] 


GENERAL  SURVEY SIAM 


The  currency  in  all  of  these  Malay  States,  whether  Federated  or 
Non-Federated,  is  the  Straits  Settlements  silver  dollar  with  subsidiary 
silver  and  copper  coins,  while  bank  notes  also  circulate  and  the  British 
sovereign  is  legal  tender.  The  weights  and  measures  utilized  are  the 
same  as  those  in  the  Straits  Settlements,  the  measure  of  length  being 
the  English  yard,  with  its  divisions  and  multiples,  and  the  land  is 
measured  by  the  English  acre.  The  commercial  weights  are  those 
long  since  established  among  the  natives,  but  their  terms  officially 
fixed  in  British  pounds  avoirdupois.  The  National  City  Bank,  through 
its  International  Banking  Corporation,  maintains  a  branch  at  Singa- 
pore. The  distance  from  New  York  to  Singapore  is  10,170  miles  via 
Suez  and  10,693  via  San  Francisco,  including  land  and  water. 

Siam 

SIAM,  which  lies  immediately  north  of  the  Malayan  peninsula, 
fronts  upon  the  Gulf  of  Siam  through  which  it  has  excellent  steamship 
connections  with  Singapore  and  with  the  great  steamship  routes 
centering  at  that  point,  and  also  very  recently  a  railway  connection 
from  Bangkok  southward  the  entire  length  of  the  Malayan  peninsula 
to  Singapore  and  Penang.  The  railway  line  also  extends  northward 
from  Bangkok  far  into  the  interior  and  to  within  a  comparatively 
short  distance  of  the  northern  border  of  Siam. 

The  area  of  Siam  is  about  200,000  square  miles,  of  which  45,000 
square  miles  lies  within  the  Malayan  peninsula.  Its  population  is 
estimated  at  about  9,000,000.  Bangkok,  the  capital,  has  a  population 
of  over  500,000  of  which  about  200,000  are  Chinese.  Consular  courts 
exercise  jurisdiction  over  their  nationals,  subject  to  certain  treaty 
modifications. 

The  total  imports  in  1918  were  $35,000,000,  and  the  exports  $45,- 
000,000.  The  principal  imports  are  cotton  goods  $9,000,000,  mineral 
oils  $1,500,000,  manufactures  and  machinery  $2,000,000,  foodstuffs 
$4,000,000,  and  gunny  bags  (used  chiefly  for  shipment  of  rice)  $2,500,- 
ooo.  The  principal  exports  are  rice  $35,000,000,  and  teakwood  about 
$2,000,000.  Of  the  imports  of  1918  about  $7,000,000  were  from  the 
United  Kingdom,  $6,000,000  from  Hongkong,  $6,000,000  from  Singa- 
pore, $5,000,000  from  India,  $3,000,000  from  China,  $2,500,000  from 
Japan  and  $1,500,000  from  United  States.  The  exports,  consisting 
principally  of  rice,  were  chiefly  to  Singapore,  Hongkong,  and  other 
Oriental  countries.  Our  own  figures  of  trade  with  Siam  show  rapid 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


gains  during  the  war  period,  having  advanced  from  $675,000  in  the 
fiscal  year  1914  to  $1,938,000  in  1919.  Our  imports,  direct  from  Siam, 
are  extremely  small  aggregating  about  $250,000  in  1919. 

Bangkok,  the  principal  port,  is  about  11,000  miles  distant  from  the 
port  of  New  York  either  by  way  of  the  Suez  or  Panama  Canals,  as 
may  be  preferred. 

French  Indo-China 

FRENCH  INDO-CHINA,  which  lies  immediately  east  of  Siam 
fronting  upon  that  section  of  the  Pacific  designated  as  the  China  Sea, 
is,  as  its  title  implies,  a  French  colonial  possession.  Its  area  is  256,000 
square  miles,  or  about  equal  to  our  state  of  Texas;  its  population,  in 
1914,  17,000,000,  of  whom  23,000  were  Europeans,  the  remainder  of 
the  population  a  mixture  of  Mongolians  and  Malays.  It  is  divided 
into  five  states — Cochin  China,  Annam,  Cambodia,  Tongking  and 
Laos.  The  total  imports  amount  to  about  $75,000,000  per  annum, 
and  the  exports  $85,000,000  per  annum.  The  imports  consist  chiefly 
of  cotton  and  silk  goods,  manufactures  of  iron  and  steel,  petroleum, 
paper  and  tobacco.  The  chief  exports  are  rice,  sugar,  pepper,  raw 
cotton,  copra  and  silk. 

The  principal  ports  are  Saigon  in  Cochin  China,  Tourainejn  An- 
nam, and  Haiphong  in  Cambodia.  Our  own  trade  with  the  French 
East  Indies  has  materially  increased  in  recent  years,  and  aggregated 
about  $6,000,000  in  1920. 

Dutch  East  Indies 

THE  Dutch  East  Indies  include  a  large  number  of  islands  be- 
longing to  the  Netherlands  government,  lying  east  and  southeast  of 
Singapore,  and  also  a  part  of  the  large  islands  of  Borneo  and  New 
Guinea. 

The  area  of  the  entire  group  is  stated  at  735,000  square  miles;  the 
population  was  estimated  at  38,000,000  in  1905,  47,000,000  in  1917, 
and  approximates  50,000,000  at  the  present  time.  The  chief  population, 
and  therefore  the  chief  commerce,  is  in  the  comparatively  small  island 
of  Java  with  the  extremely  small  island  of  Madura  lying  alongside. 
The  population  of  Java  and  Madura  was  stated  by  the  census  of  1 905 
at  30,100,000,  and  was  officially  estimated  at  the  end  of  1917  at 
34,157,000,  suggesting  a  present  total  for  Java  and  Madura  alone  of 
35,000,000,  or  an  average  of  about  700  per  square  mile  for  the  entire 

[52] 


GENERAL  SURVEY DUTCH  EAST  INDIES 


Java-Madura  area,  their  area  being,  in  round  terms,  50,000  square 
miles.  Sumatra,  which  lies  immediately  west  of  Java  and  immediately 
south  of  Singapore  is  much  larger  than  Java,  its  total  area  being  about 
1 57,000  square  miles,  or  more  than  three  times  that  of  Java  with  Ma- 
dura, but  its  population  is  less  than  one-seventh  that  of  the  smaller 
island  of  Java.  It  is,  however,  being  rapidly  developed  and  itsprospects 
in  india-rubber,  tobacco,  and  cocoanuts  are  important.  The  section  of 
Borneo  claimed  by  the  Dutch  government  has  an  area  of  about  200,- 
ooo  square  miles  and  a  population  of  approximately  1,500,000, 
Celebes  about  50,000  square  miles  and  a  population  of  approximately 
2,000,000,  and  the  Molucca  islands  a  population  of  about  a  half  million. 

A  very  large  proportion  of  the  commerce  of  this  great  island  group 
occurs  with  the  island  of  Java,  of  which  Batavia  is  the  principal  port 
but  connected  with  all  parts  of  the  island  by  a  railway  line  which  now 
extends  through  nearly  the  entire  length,  at  a  distance  about  midway 
between  the  northern  and  southern  coasts.  Another  important  port, 
further  east,  lying  on  the  northern  coast  of  the  island,  as  does  also 
Batavia,  is  Soerabaya  and  at  each  of  these  ports  The  National  City 
Bank  of  New  Nork,  through  its  International  Banking  Corporation, 
has  branch  banks  which  co-operate  in  the  rapidly  growing  trade  of 
the  United  States  with  Java,  and  in  fact,  with  the  Dutch  East  Indies 
as  a  whole.  Batavia  is  about  10,000  miles  from  New  York  by  way  of 
the  Suez  Canal,  and  13,000  by  way  of  the  Panama. 

A  very  large  proportion  of  the  commerce  of  the  Dutch  East  Indies 
originates  in  or  is  received  by  Java,  though  Sumatra  is  rapidly  advanc- 
ing in  its  producing  power,  especially  in  rubber  and  tobacco,  which  is 
of  extremely  high  quality  and  used  chiefly  as  cigar  wrappers.  The  prin- 
cipal products  of  Java  are  rice  (entirely  consumed  by  the  population), 
sugar  (exported  chiefly  to  the  nearby  Oriental  countries — India, 
Hongkong,  China  and  Japan),  rubber,  copra,  cocoanut  oil,  tobacco, 
coffee,  tea,  cinchona  and  indigo.  The  chief  mineral  production  is  tin 
ore  in  the  islands  of  Banca  and  Billiton,  but  recent  discoveries  of  iron 
of  a  high  grade  in  Celebes  gives  great  promise.  Petroleum  is  also  pro- 
duced in  large  quantities.  Sugar  is  the  most  important  of  the  articles 
for  exportation  since  Java  ranks  third  among  the  great  producers  of 
cane  sugar,  being  exceeded  only  by  Cuba  (which  sends  its  product 
chiefly  to  the  United  States),  and  India  (which  consumes  all  of  its  own 
product  and  imports  considerable  quantities  from  Java).  Tea  has 
become,  in  recent  years,  an  article  of  very  considerable  importance 

[53] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


in  the  production  and  exportation.  Coffee  production  has  undergone 
a  marked  change  in  recent  years,  the  high-grade  Arabian  coffee 
formerly  produced  in  the  island  having  been  greatly  reduced  by  insect 
pests  and  climatic  conditions,  and  replaced  in  very  recent  years  by  a 
newer  grade  designated  as  "Robusta,"  of  which  the  production  has 
rapidly  increased,  though  the  price  which  it  commands  in  other 
markets  is  not  equal  to  that  of  the  former  high-grade  product. 

The  trade  of  the  Dutch  East  Indies  was,  prior  to  the  war,  chiefly 
with  the  Mother  Country  which  supplied  most  of  the  articles  imported 
and  took  the  bulk  of  the  exports,  redistributing  them  to  other  coun- 
tries. The  difficulties  of  transportation  during  the  war  changed  all 
this,  and  the  imports  from  the  United  States  alone  grew  from  $3,000,- 
ooo  in  the  year  preceding  the  war,  to  $45,000,000  in  1919,  and  are 
still  continuing  to  increase  in  1920.  The  imports  from  Japan  were  also 
greatly  increased  during  the  war  period  but  have  somewhat  declined 
since  its  close.  Our  principal  exports  to  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  as 
shown  in  detail  in  attached  tables,  included  in  the  calendar  year  1919 
over  $10,000,000  worth  of  iron  and  steel  manufactures  of  various 
classes  including  steel  rails,  engines,  railway  supplies,  steel  bars  and 
rods,  tin  plates,  wire,  pipes  and  fittings,  and  machinery,  also  cotton 
cloths,  automobiles,  illuminating  and  lubricating  oils,  boots  and  shoes 
and  other  manufactures  of  leather,  naval  stores,  paper,  soaps  and  con- 
densed milk,  as  well  as  many  other  miscellaneous  manufactures.  Our 
own  figures  of  imports  from  the  Dutch  East  Indies  were  in  1920 
$96,000,000  and  the  exports  thereto  $46,000,000. 

Figures  of  the  value  of  the  trade  of  the  Dutch  East  Indies  presented 
in  an  official  publication,  the  Yearbook  of  the  Netherlands  East 
Indies,  prepared  by  the  Division  of  Commerce  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Industry  and  Commerce  at  Buitenzorg,  Java,  states  the 
total  imports  in  1913  at  462,000,000  guilders  (value  of  the  guilder  4oc. 
U.  S.  currency),  and  in  1918  537,000,000  guilders.  The  exports  of  1913 
are  stated  at  627,000,000  guilders  and  in  1918  676,000,000. 

The  Philippines 

IN  the  case  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  the  United  States  quite 
naturally  enjoys  a  materially  larger  percentage  of  the  trade  than  that 
of  the  other  countries  of  the  Far  East,  though  the  percentage  which  we 
are  supplying  of  the  imports  of  all  of  the  Far  Eastern  countries  has 
materiallymcreased  during  thewar  period  for  reasons  already  discussed 

[54] 


GENERAL  SURVEY THE  PHILIPPINES 


The  total  area  of  the  Philippines  is  150,000  square  miles,  or  about 
equal  to  the  state  of  Arizona,  with  a  population  of  approximately 
10,000,000;  their  imports  in  1919  averaged  $  107 ,000,000,  and  their 
exports  $123,000,000.  Sixty  percent  of  the  imports  were  drawn  from 
the  United  States  and  65  percent  of  the  exports  sent  to  the  United 
States.  Their  imports  from  the  United  States  practically  doubled  dur- 
ing the  war  period,  from  $27,000,000  in  1913  to  $59,000,000  in  1918, 
and  $65,000,000  in  1919.  Meantime  their  imports  from  Japan  grew 
from  3*/z  million  dollars  to  13  millions  in  1918.  Those  from  the  United 
Kingdom  declined  from  5^  million  dollars  in  1913  to  2%  millions  in 
1918.  The  imports  from  Spain  fell  from  ij^  million  dollars  in  1913  to 
less  than  one-half  million  in  1918  while  the  imports  from  China 
increased  from  $2,000,000  in  1913  to  $7,500,000  in  1918,  and  from 
Australia  the  imports  grew  from  2^  million  dollars  in  1913  to  3% 
million  in  1918.  The  exports  increased  even  more  rapidly  than  the 
imports,  advancing  from  $48,000,000  in  1913  to  $135,000,000  in  1918. 
Those  to  the  United  States  advanced  from  $16,000,000  in  1913  to 
$89,000,000  in  1918.  The  principal  imports  of  the  islands  are,  in  the 
order  of  relative  importance,  cotton  goods  $25,000,000,  iron  and 
steel  products  $10,000,000,  rice  $6,000,000,  meat  and  dairy  products 
$3,500,000,  flour  $2,650,000,  automobiles  $2,381,000,  leather  goods 
$1,890,000,  and  coal  $1,875,000.  This  list  represents  very  closely  the 
class  of  merchandise  drawn  from  the  United  States  by  the  islands, 
except  in  the  matter  of  rice,  which  they  of  course  draw  from  their  near- 
by Oriental  neighbors,  chiefly  Siam  and  French  Indo-China,  for  the 
people  of  the  Philippines  in  recent  years  have  developed  the  custom  of 
devoting  their  attention  to  other  lines  of  industry,  agriculture  and 
otherwise,  and  buying  from  other  countries  a  considerable  proportion 
of  the  rice  which  they  consume.  Cotton  cloths,  manufactures  of  iron 
and  steel,  petroleum,  meat  and  dairy  products,  and,  in  fact,  manufac- 
tures of  all  sorts  are  sent  from  the  United  States  to  the  islands,  which 
send  in  return  cocoanut  oil,  copra,  Manila  hemp,  and  tobacco,  includ- 
ing manufactures  thereof. 

The  trade  of  the  United  States  with  the  Philippines  has  grown-from 
$5,000,000  in  1900  to  $28,000,000  in  1910,  $50,000,000  in  1914, 
jumping  to  $126,000,000  in  the  closing  year  of  the  war,  1918,  and 
$144,000,000  in  the  fiscal  year  1920,  being  thus  thirty  times  as  much 
in  1920  as  in  the  year  following  the  annexation  of  the  islands  by  the 
United  States,  while  prior  to  that  time  our  total  of  trade  with  the 

[55] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


islands  was  still  less.  The  United  States  has,  of  course,  enjoyed,  since 
annexation,  a  much  larger  share  of  the  trade  of  the  islands  than  ever 
before,  and  also  a  much  larger  share  than  that  with  occurs  in  the  trade 
with  any  other  of  the  countries  included  in  the  Far  Eastern  group,  our 
share  of  the  merchandise  imported  into  the  Philippines  having  been 
in  1919  60%,  and  of  their  exports  65%  were  to  the  United  States. 
While  the  number  of  articles  which  the  islands  send  to  us  is  com- 
paratively limited,  the  number  of  articles  which  they  take  from  the 
United  States  is  extremely  large,  including  practically  all  classes  of 
manufactures,  and  foodstuffs  in  very  considerable  quantities.  Details 
showing  the  principal  articles  forming  the  trade  with  the  Philippines 
for  a  term  of  years  appear  on  another  page. 

The  principal  port  and  business  center,  Manila,  is  11,556  miles 
from  New  York  by  way  of  Suez,  and  1 1,546  miles  by  way  of  Panama, 
but  9,192  miles  passing  by  rail  to  Port  Townsend,  and  thence  by 
steamer  by  way  of  Yokohama,  and  9,480  miles  by  land  to  San  Fran- 
cisco and  thence  by  steamer  by  way  of  Yokohama. 

The  National  City  Bank,  through  its  International  Banking  Cor- 
poration, maintains  a  branch  at  Manila  in  Luzon,  the  most  northerly 
island  of  the  group,  also  a  branch  at  Cebu,  in  the  Island  of  Cebu, 
another  island  of  the  Philippine  group  lying  about  500  miles  south  of 
Manila. 

Hongkong 

HONGKONG  is  a  British  colony  occupying  an  island  just  off  the 
southeastern  coast  of  China  at  the  mouth  of  the  Canton  River,  about 
90  miles  southeast  of  the  city  of  Canton,  the  chief  trading  center  of 
southern  China.  Hongkong  has  an  area  of  32  square  miles  but  addi- 
tional areas  of  territory  on  the  mainland  adjacent  have  been  obtained 
by  treaties  with  China,  making  the  total  area,  including  Hongkong  and 
the  adjacent  territory  under  British  control,  350  square  miles,  with  a 
population  of  about  535,000,  of  which  13,500  are  described  as  "non- 
Chinese",  about  one-half  British  and  one-third  Portuguese.  Hong- 
kong's importance  lies  in  its  harbor  facilities  for  merchandise  entering 
and  leaving  southern  China  and  in  the  trading  and  banking  of  that 
section  of  China  and  the  relation  thereof  to  other  parts  of  the  Orient 
and  other  parts  of  the  world.  It  is  not  in  any  considerable  degree  a 
manufacturing  or  producing  section.  The  chief  industries  are  cotton 
spinning,  sugar  refining,  ship  building  and  repairing,  brewing,  and  the 

[56] 


GENERAL  SURVEY HONGKONG 


manufacture  in  a  limited  way  of  knit  goods.  It  receives  from  various 
parts  of  the  world  merchandise  consigned  to  that  port  but  there 
placed  on  transports  which  move  the  merchandise  up  the  Canton 
River  to  Canton  as  a  great  trade  distributing  center  and  also  along  the 
coasts  of  China,  and  in  no  inconsiderable  degree  also  from  Hongkong 
to  adjacent  islands  and  countries,  including  the  Philippines,  Korea, 
Japan,  and  in  a  less  degree  French  Indo-China  and  the  Dutch  East 
Indies,  while  merchandise  originating  in  that  section  of  the  world 
passes  out  of  Hongkong  to  all  countries  both  of  the  Far  East  and  the 
more  distant  Occident.  In  shipping  facilities,  it  holds  high  rank,  the 
tonnage  of  vessels  entering  in  clearing  at  Hongkong  exceeding  those 
of  any  other  port  of  the  Far  East,  standing  in  1918  at  8,528,000  tons 
against  6,969,000  at  Shanghai,  5,412,000  at  Singapore,  5,023,000  at 
Kobe,  and  3,332,000  at  Yokohama.  Indeed  the  tonnage  of  vessels 
entering  the  port  of  Hongkong  is  exceeded  by  only  those  of  New  York, 
Antwerp,  and  Hamburg,  its  total  being  greater  than  that  entering 
the  ports  of  Liverpool  or  London. 

Statistics  of  imports  and  exports  of  Hongkong  are  only  of  recent 
date,  no  statement  on  this  subject  having  been  published  prior  to 
1918.  The  compiler  of  its  trade  statistics  states  frankly  that  "Hong- 
kong is  essentially  an  entreport  where  merchandise  from  all  parts  of 
the  world  changes  hands  or  ships  or  both."  The  Colony  produces 
nothing,  animal,  vegetable,  or  mineral,  of  any  account  from  a  world- 
trade  point  of  view.  The  total  of  Hongkong's  1919  imports  is  stated 
at  $331,000,000,  of  which  $85,000,000  was  from  the  United  States, 
$65,000,000  from  French  Indo-China,  $60,000,000  from  North 
China,  $47,000,000  from  Japan,  and  $25,000,000  from  the  United 
Kingdom,  though  it  is  proper  to  add  that  the  large  figures  credited  to 
the  United  States  are  due  to  the  fact  that  gold  and  silver  are  included 
in  the  figures  of  imports  and  apparently  form  over  one-half  of  the 
$85,000,000  accredited  to  this  country.  In  fact,  our  own  statement  of 
exports  of  merchandise  to  Hongkong  shows  for  the  calendar  year  1919 
but  $22,000,000,  as  their  value  on  leaving  at  the  ports  of  the  United 
States,  though  their  valuations  at  Hongkong  were  doubtless  greatly 
increased  by  the  costs  of  freight,  insurance,  etc.,  and  presumably  in- 
cluded in  the  valuation  named  on  entering  that  port.  The  principal 
articles  exported  from  the  United  States  to  Hongkong  are  cotton 
goods,  iron  and  steel  manufactures  of  all  classes,  machinery,  tin  plates, 
steel  plates  and  sheets,  illuminating  and  lubricating  oils,  tobacco, 

[57] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


cigarettes,  condensed  milk,  ginseng  and  automobiles.  The  chief  articles 
imported  into  the  United  States  from  Hongkong  are  rice,  pig  tin, 
spices,  hides  and  skins,  silk  and  vegetables  oils. 

The  distance  from  New  York  to  the  port  of  Hongkong  is  11,610 
miles  by  way  of  Suez,  1 1,431  by  way  of  Panama,  9,277  by  way  of  San 
Francisco  (including  rail  and  steamship)  and  9,085  by  way  of  Port 
Townsend.  The  National  City  Bank,  through  its  International  Bank- 
ing Corporation,  maintains  a  branch  bank  at  Hongkong. 

China 

THE  Republic  of  China,  until  a  comparatively  recent  date  the 
Chinese  Empire,  has  an  area  bigger  than  that  of  any  other  country 
of  the  world,  except  that  of  Russia  prior  to  the  war;  the  area  of  China 
exceeding  that  of  the  United  States,  Canada,  or  Brazil,  being  stated 
at  4,278,000  square  miles.  The  bulk  of  China's  population,  commerce 
and  producing  and  consuming  power  lies,  however,  in  that  much  smal- 
ler area  known  as  "China  Proper"  or  the  Eighteen  Provinces,  situated 
at  the  extreme  southeast  of  that  great  land  mass,  above  referred  to, 
and  having  an  area  of  only  1,532,000  square  miles.  "China  Proper"  or 
the  Eighteen  Provinces,  has,  in  fact,  only  about  one-third  of  the  area 
but  more  than  nine-tenths  of  the  population,  and  practically  all  the 
commerce  of  that  great  land  mass  designated  as  "China".  The  Ency- 
clopedia Americana  in  its  1920  edition,  describing  the  population  of 
China  Proper,  or  the  Eighteen  Provinces,  remarks  that  "if  the  whole 
population  of  the  United  States  and  40,000,000  more  were  crowded 
into  the  State  of  Texas,  the  density  of  population  would  be  about 
equal  to  that  of  the  Yang-tse  Valley  and  the  plain  lying  between  the 
lower  courses  of  the  Yang-tse-kiang  and  the  Hoang-ho." 

"China  Proper"  consists  of  that  compact  land  mass  fronting  on 
the  Pacific  and  including  the  valleys  of  the  Yang-tse-kiang  and  Hoang- 
ho  rivers,  and  extending  back  along  those  streams  to  the  mountain 
ranges  about  1,000  miles  from  the  sea  coast. 

China  is  essentially  an  agricultural  country,  the  land  being  freehold, 
held  by  families  on  the  payment  of  an  annual  tax.  The  holdings  are 
generally  small  and  the  implements  used  primitive;  irrigation  is 
common  and  Chinese  agriculture  is  intensive  rather  than  extensive. 
Indeed,  the  Chinese  have  been  referred  to  as  gardeners  rather  than 
farmers. 

Vegetable  culture  has  reached  a  high  state  of  perfection.  Wheat, 

[58] 


GENERAL  SURVEY CHINA 


corn,  millet,  peas,  and  beans  are  chiefly  cultivated  in  the  north;  rice, 
sugar,  and  indigo  in  the  south.  Treaties  forbid  the  export  of  grain  with 
the  exception  of  the  soya  bean,  which  is  chiefly  produced  in  Man- 
churia. 

Silk  culture  is  one  of  the  most  successful  industries  of  China,  which 
is  estimated  to  produce  about  27%  of  the  world's  silk  crop;  tea  is 
cultivated  extensively  in  the  west  and  south,  and  cotton  in  the  central 
and  southern  parts  of  the  country.  Chinese  production  of  cotton  is 
variously  estimated  at  from  3,0x^0,000  to  6,000,000  bales  per  annum. 
Practically  all  the  cotton  and  a  very  considerable  proportion  of  her 
silk  and  tea,  as  well  as  all  of  the  agricultural  products,  are  consumed 
by  her  own  people.  Manufacture  by  factory  processes  is  thus  far  of 
comparatively  small  importance  and  the  hand  trades  still  flourish,  and 
include  manufacture  by  crude  machiney  operated  by  both  men  and 
women.  Estimates  made  a  few  years  ago  indicated  that  two-thirds  of 
the  cotton  goods  worn  in  China  were  at  that  time  manufactured  by 
hand  labor,  though  several  modern  cotton  mills  have  been  established 
in  China  since  that  time  and  large  quantities  of  cotton  goods  also 
sent  into  China  from  Japan,  which  has  practically  supplanted  the 
United  States  in  the  cotton  goods  markets  of  China. 

The  silk  industry  engages  the  attention  of  many  millions  of  people 
in  the  production  and  care  of  the  mulberry  trees,  whose  leaves  form 
the  food  of  the  silk  worm,  and  from  this  on  to  the  finished  product, 
which,  according  to  a  high  authority,  "is  much  heavier  than  the 
Italian  silk  and  preferred  in  fabrics  requiring  lustre  and  firmness." 
The  mulberry  tree,  which  furnishes  the  food  for  the  silk  worm,  is 
planted  in  rows  often  along  the  banks  of  the  canals,  and  it  is  not 
allowed  to  exceed  from  4  to  6  feet  in  height.  The  mulberry  and  silk 
worm  farms  are  small  and  generally  worked  by  the  farmer  and  his 
family. 

In  minerals  and  metals  nature  has  given  to  China  extremely  liberal 
supplies,  which  await  the  combination  of  capital  and  transportation 
on  the  one  hand,  with  the  great  masses  of  native  labor  on  the  other, 
and  when  these  capital  and  transportation  facilities  are  supplied,  in 
combination  with  native  labor,  China  will  be  one  of  the  great  manu- 
facturing countries  of  the  world,  as  Japan  has  already  become,  despite 
the  fact  that  Japan  has  far  less  quantities  of  either  iron  or  coal  than 
China.  In  fact,  China's  coal  "reserve"  exceeds  that  of  any  country  of 
the  world  except  the  United  States  and  Canada,  our  own  "reserve" 

[59] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


being  estimated  by  geological  authorities  at  4,231,000,000,000  tons, 
Canada  1,361,000,000,000  tons,  and  China  1,097,000,000,000,  though 
the  proportion  of  China's  supply,  which  is  classed  as  anthracite,  is 
much  larger  than  that  of  the  United  States.  In  addition  to  this  she  has 
ample  iron  supplies  lying,  in  many  cases,  in  close  conjunction  with 
coal,  especially  in  the  anthracite  field  of  Shansi,  while  in  addition  to 
the  great  supplies  of  coal  and  iron,  considerable  quantities  of  copper, 
tin,  and  antimony  are  found,  the  Yunnan  Province  being  stated  by  a 
high  authority  as  "one  of  the  richest  copper  districts  of  the  world." 

Transportation  facilities  are  still  extremely  unsatisfactory,  except 
as  to  that  upon  the  rivers  and  along  the  coasts,  especially  the  Yang- 
tse-kiang.  The  lower  regions  of  the  Yang-tse-kiang  and  the  Hoang-ho 
are  connected  by  the  Grand  Canal,  one  of  the  very  early  and  extreme- 
ly successful  engineering  and  transportation  projects  of  China,  for  the 
further  development  and  modernization  of  which  a  contract  has  re- 
cently been  signed  with  an  American  firm,  while  smaller  canals 
throughout  the  country  prove  of  great  assistance  to  transportation. 
The  highways  are  in  a  large  part  only  suited  to  movements  of  freight 
by  hand  propelled  vehicles,  including  wheelbarrows,  though  these 
may  in  time  prove  the  basis  of  roadways  for  the  automobiles  for 
both  passengers  and  freight  now  being  slowly  introduced  into  China. 

The  railways  of  China,  which  made  slow  development  from  their 
introduction  in  1876  to  the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  have 
made  material  progress  through  the  adoption  of  a  system  by  which 
construction  by  foreign  capital  was  permitted  with  the  requirement 
that  they  should  revert  to  the  government  at  the  end  of  a  fixed  period. 
The  total  length  of  railways  now  open  to  traffic  in  China — all  in  China 
Proper,  except  about  2,000  miles  in  Manchuria — is  about  6,000  miles, 
and  about  2,500  miles  additional  are  under  construction.  These  rail- 
roads as  a  rule  run  north  and  south,  one  important  line  extending 
southward  from  Peking,  the  capital,  to  Hankow,  with  plans  for  its 
further  extension  to  Canton;  another  extends  to  the  northeast  from 
Peking,  Tientsin  and  Port  Arthur  through  Manchuria  to  connect  with 
the  Trans-Siberian  route,  while  still  other  lines  extend  westwardly 
from  the  Pacific  frontage  at  Shanghai,  Kiao-Chow  and  Tientsin  with 
a  purpose  of  connecting  the  waterfront  with  the  great  lines  stretching 
southward  from  Peking. 

The  commerce  of  China  has  grown  from  $190,000,000  in  1870  to 
$220,000,000  in  1880,  $270,000,000  in  1890;  and  a  little  less  than 

[60] 


GENERAL  SURVEY — JAPAN 


$300,000,000  in  1900  to  $275,000,000  in  1913,  and  $1,250,000,000  in 
1918.  Her  imports  are  in  nearly  all  cases  somewhat  in  excess  of  her 
exports.  Our  own  share  in  her  trade  has  greatly  increased  during  the 
war.  In  1913  she  took  of  her  imports  only  6%  from  the  United  States 
and  sent  to  us  only  9%  of  her  exports,  while  in  1918  she  took  over 
10%  of  her  greatly  enlarged  imports  from  the  United  States  and  sent 
to  us  1 6%  of  her  exports. 

Our  own  exports  to  China  which  have  grown  from  $15,000,000  in 
1900  to  $24,700,000  in  the  fiscal  year  1914,  all  of  which  preceded  the 
war,  advanced  rapidly  during  the  war  period,  reaching  $37,200,000  in 
1917,  $43,500,000  in  1918,  $83,000,000  in  1919,  and  were  in  the  fiscal 
year  1920  (all  of  which  followed  the  war),  $119,000,000,  while  our 
imports  from  China  advanced  from  $39,000,000  in  1914  to  $105,000,- 
ooo  in  1917,  and  $227,000,000  in  the  fiscal  year  1920.  It  will  thus 
be  observed  that  the  figures  of  our  trade  with  China  during  the 
war  period  show  very  large  gains,  a  part  of  this  being  of  course  due 
to  higher  valuations  of  the  merchandise,  but  in  large  part  due  to 
increased  quantities. 

The  principal  cities  of  China  are  Shanghai,  Canton,  Peking,  Han- 
kow, Harbin  and  Tientsin,  at  each  of  which  The  National  City  Bank 
of  New  York,  through  its  International  Banking  Corporation,  main- 
tains a  branch  bank,  as  it  does  also  at  Hongkong  and  at  Tsingtau,  the 
chief  city  and  port  of  the  former  German  colony  of  Kaio  Chou,  now 
under  Japanese  Control. 

Shanghai  is  12,360  miles  distant  from  New  York  by  way  of  Suez, 
10,855  miles  by  Wa7  of  Panama,  and  8,741  miles  by  way  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. 

Japan 

JAPAN,  which  consists  of  a  group  of  islands  lying  off  the  eastern 
coast  of  Eurasia  just  as  the  islands  forming  the  United  Kingdom  lie 
off  the  western  coast  of  Eurasia,  has  an  area  of  146,000  square  miles, 
while  the  United  Kingdom  has  an  area  of  121,000  square  miles.  The 
population  of  Japan  is  58,000,000,  and  that  of  the  United  Kingdom 
46,000,000. 

The  Japanese  Empire  comprises  five  principal  islands,  Honshiu 
(mainland),  or  Hondo,  with  an  area  of  87,000  square  miles,  and  a 
population  of  about  40,000,000;  Shikoku  with  an  area  of  7,000  square 
miles,  and  a  population  of  4,000,000,  lying  south  of  the  western  part 

[61] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


of  Honshiu;  Kiushiu  with  an  area  of  16,000  square  miles  and  a  popu- 
lation of  9,000,000,  adjacent  to  the  southwestern  end  of  Honshiu; 
Yezo,  with  an  area  of  35,000  square  miles,  lying  north  of  Honshiu;  and 
Formosa  with  an  area  of  13,000  square  miles  which  lies  further  south, 
off  the  coast  of  China,  Korea,  or  Chosen  as  it  is  now  known,  has  been 
under  Japanese  control  since  1910. 

The  latest  official  figures  (1918)  on  the  population  of  Japan  as  a 
whole,  show  a  total  of  57,000,000,  exclusive  of  Formosa  (3,650,000), 
and  Chosen  (Korea)  (17,000,000),  making  an  estimated  total  for 
Japan,  Formosa,  and  Chosen  at  the  beginning  of  1918  of  77,650,000. 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  interior  of  the  islands  consists  in 
many  cases  of  mountains  of  a  considerable  elevation,  the  density  of 
population  for  Japan  proper,  exclusive  of  Formosa  and  Chosen,  is 
about  392  per  square  mile,  and  in  certain  of  the  more  densely  inhabited 
sections  materially  greater.  About  three-fifths  of  the  arable  land  is 
cultivated  by  peasant  proprietors  and  the  remaining  proportion  of  it 
by  tenants.  Of  the  cultivated  land  about  7,500,000  acres  are  devoted 
to  rice,  and  about  4,000,000  acres  to  wheat,  barley,  and  rye.  Fishing 
is  an  extremely  important  industry  of  Japan,  the  waters  on  the  various 
frontages  supplying  unlimited  quantities  of  fish  which  is  the  principal 
food,  other  than  rice,  of  the  population.  The  number  of  persons  en- 
gaged in  the  fisheries  industry  is  stated  at  over  3,000,000,  and  the 
value  of  the  product  $40,000,000  per  annum. 

The  growth  in  the  manufacturing  industries  has  been  very  rapid 
in  recent  years  and  this  has  resulted  in  Japan  (as  in  the  United  States) 
in  the  transfer  of  a  very  considerable  element  of  the  population  from 
the  agricultural  sections  to  the  manufacturing  cities  and  towns.  Rice 
and  other  grains  above  mentioned,  tea,  and  the  rearing  of  silk  worms 
occupy  the  chief  attention  of  the  rural  element  of  the  population. 
The  latest  industrial  census,  taken  at  the  end  of  1916,  shows  19,299 
factories  (employing  more  than  10  workers  each)  with  about  1,100,000 
employes.  The  value  of  the  woven  goods  turned  out  in  1916,  the  latest 
available  figure,  is  stated  at  $282,000,000,  of  which  $152,000,000  were 
cotton,  $80,000,000  silk,  and  $25,000,000  woolen  goods.  Paper,  leather 
goods,  matting,  earthenware,  matches  and  knit  goods  are  also  im- 
portant factors  in  the  manufacturing  industries.  Doubtless  the  figures 
of  the  value  of  the  product  at  the  present  time  in  these  various  lines 
are  far  in  excess  of  those  officially  named  in  1916. 

Transportation  facilities  in  Japan  are  good  as  compared  with  those 

[62] 


GENERAL  SURVEY — JAPAN 


in  China.  Railway  systems  extend  throughout  the  principal  islands 
which  connect  their  interiors,  and  especially  manufacturing  centers, 
with  the  principal  commercial  ports.  The  length  of  railways  in  Japan 
is  about  8,000  miles,  an  average  of  53  miles  for  each  1,000  square  miles 
of  territory,  while  in  China  proper  and  Manchuria  the  length  of  rail- 
ways is  less  than  5  miles  per  each  1,000  square  miles  of  area. 

As  a  consequence  of  these  conditions  of  great  manufacturing  indus- 
tries, coupled  with  modern  rail  and  steamship  transportation  facili- 
ties, the  foreign  commerce  of  Japan  is  large  in  proportion  to  its  popula- 
tion, the  total  imports  averaging  in  1918,  $14.25  per  capita  as  against 
$1.12  per  capita  in  China,  and  slightly  less  than  $2.00  per  capita  in 
British  India,  while  the  exports  of  Japan  were  in  1918  at  the  rate  of 
$16.58  per  capita  against  less  than  $2.00  per  capita  in  the  case  of 
China  and  $2.50  per  capita  in  the  case  of  British  India. 

The  total  commerce  of  Japan  grew  from  $125,000,000  in  1890  to 
$245,000,000  in  1910,  $680,000,000  in  1913,  $1,810,000,000  in  1918, 
and  $2,130,000,000  in  1919.  The  imports  and  exports  prior  to  the  war 
were  pretty  closely  balanced  but  the  exports  exceeded  imports  in 
each  year  of  the  war  period.  The  figures  for  1913  show  imports  $363,- 
000,000,  and  exports  $315,000,000,  but  in  1918  the  imports  were  $831,- 
000,000,  and  the  exports  $978,000,000,  in  1919  the  imports  were  $i,- 
080,000,000,  and  the  exports  $1,047,000,000. 

The  trade  of  Japan  with  the  United  States,  as  has  been  already  in- 
dicated, has  grown  very  rapidly,  especially  during  the  war  period.  Our 
total  exports  to  Japan,  which  were  $29,000,000  in  our  fiscal  year  1900, 
and  $51,000,000  in  1914,  advanced  to  $130,000,000  in  1917,  $268,000,- 
ooo  in  1918,  $326,000,000  in  the  fiscal  year  1919,  and  $453,000,000  in 
the  fiscal  year  1920.  The  increasing  share  of  the  United  States  in  the 
trade  of  Japan  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  her  own  official  figures 
show  that  the  share  of  her  imports  drawn  from  the  United  States  in 
1913  was  1 6. 8%  and  in  1918  37.5%  of  the  greatly  increased  total 
while  of  her  exports  of  1913  she  sent  29.2%  to  the  United  States,  and 
in  1918  27.2%  to  the  United  States. 

Our  imports  from  Japan  increased  from  $285,000,000  in  1918  to 
$527,000,000  in  1920. 

Japan,  like  the  other  Far  Eastern  countries,  materially  decreased 
her  imports  from  Europe  during  the  war,  her  imports  from  the  United 
Kingdom  falling  from  $61,000,000  in  1913  to  $33,000,000  in  1918, 
while  those  from  Germany  fell  from  $34,000,000  to  less  than  $2,000,- 

[63] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


ooo.  From  her  Oriental  neighbors,  however,  she  increased  her  imports, 
those  from  China  from  $35,000,000  to  $140,000,000;  those  from 
India  $87,000,000  to  $134,000,000.  In  exports,  however,  she  made 
greater  gains  than  did  most  others  of  the  Far  Eastern  countries, 
her  exports  to  Great  Britain  having  grown  from  $17,000,000  to 
$71,000,000,  to  France  from  $30,000,000  to  $71,000,000,  to  China 
from  $77,000,000  to  $179,000,000,  and  to  India  from  $15,000,000  to 
$101,000,000,  while  to  the  United  States  her  own  figures  show  an 
increase  from  $92,000,000  in  1913  to  $285,000,000  in  1918  and 
$527,000,000  in  1920. 

The  classes  of  merchandise  forming  the  trade  between  the  United 
States  and  Japan  are  shown  in  the  tables  which  follow  this  text 
discussion.  The  principal  articles  imported  by  us  from  Japan  are  raw 
silk,  of  which  the  total  from  Japan  alone  in  the  fiscal  year  1920 
were  $328,000,000  as  against  less  than  $150,000,000  in  the  im- 
mediately preceding  year,  vegetable  oils,  soya  beans,  and  peanuts 
for  use  of  manufacture  of  oils,  tea,  rice,  gums,  especially  camphor, 
chinaware,  matting,  matches  and  furs.  Our  own  exports  to  Japan 
include  raw  cotton,  lumber,  leather,  chemicals,  automobiles,  mineral 
oils  and  manufactures  of  all  classes,  but  especially  those  of  iron  and 
steel  for  which  the  demand  has  been  very  great  during  the  war.  The 
demand  for  our  iron  and  steel  manufactures  in  Japan  is  illustrated 
by  the  fact  that  over  $30,000,000  worth  of  steel  plates,  $10,000,000 
worth  of  steel  sheets,  $10,000,000  of  tin  plates,  and  $28,000,000  worth 
of  bars  or  rods  of  steel  were  included  in  our  record  of  exports  to  Japan 
in  the  fiscal  year  1918;  while  her  demands  upon  the  United  States  for 
machinery  of  all  sorts  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  representatives  of 
her  cotton  industries,  unable  to  purchase  the  new  machinery  which 
they  desire  for  their  factories,  bought  several  cotton  mills  in  the 
United  States  and  shipped  the  machinery  to  Japan  for  use  in  their 
cotton  mills  in  that  country,  in  conjunction  with  native  labor  sup- 
plies, utilizing  in  most  cases  raw  cotton,  sent  from  the  United  States 
and  India. 

The  principal  cities  of  Japan  are  Tokyo  with  a  population  of  2,250,- 
ooo ;  Osaka  1,500,000;  Kyoto  550,000;  Kobe  500,000;  and  Yokohama 
with  a  population  of  450,000.  The  National  City  Bank  of  New  York 
through  its  International  Banking  Corporation  maintains  a  branch 
bank  at  Yokohama  and  at  Kobe. 

The  distance  from  New  York  to  Yokohama  is,  b>  way  of  Panama 

[64] 


GENERAL  SURVEY CHOSEN 


and  thence  across  the  Pacific,  about  10,000  miles,  and  across  the  con- 
tinent and  from  San  Francisco  by  steamer  7,727  miles. 

Chosen  (Korea) 

"CHOSEN",  the  original  title  of  the  area  occupying  the  penin- 
sula lying  between  Japan  and  the  eastern  front  of  Asia,  subsequently 
known  as  "Korea",  is  again,  since  its  annexation  by  Japan  in  1910, 
designated  by  the  Japanese  Government  and  by  geographers  generally 
as  "Chosen".  Its  estimated  area  is  about  84,000  square  miles,  with  a 
population  of  17,000,000,  of  which  about  20,000  are  foreign  residents, 
chiefly  Chinese,  but  including  600  Americans.  It  is  entirely  an  agri- 
cultural country,  though  the  cultivated  area  of  8,000,000  acres  is 
tilled  by  primitive  methods,  rand  the  means  of  communication  are 
few  and  difficult,  though  improvements  are  fast  being  made  in  this 
respect.  The  chief  crops  are  rice,  beans,  wheat  and  other  grains. 

The  trade  of  Chosen,  conducted  under  the  immediate  supervision 
of  Japan,  has  grown  rapidly  in  recent  years,  the  imports  having  grown 
from  $20,000,000  in  1910  to  $35,000,000  in  1913,  $51,000,000  in  1917, 
suddenly  increasing  to  $80,000,000  in  1918,  and  $150,000,000  in  1919. 
The  exports  grew  from  $15,000,000  in  1913  to  $41,000,000  in  1917, 
$80,000,000  in  1918,  and  $125,000,000  in  1919.  Of  the  $150,000,000  of 
imports  of  1919  about  $12,000,000  were  stated  as  from  the  United 
States.  Our  own  figures  of  exports  to  Chosen  show  a  total  of  slightly 
less  than  $1,000,000  in  1910,  $1,175,000  in  1913,  $1,826,000  in 
1918,  and  $3,330,000  in  1919.  The  exports  to  Chosen  are  chiefly  man- 
factures,  especially  of  iron  and  steel,  also,  in  limited  quantities,  auto- 
mobiles, boots  and  shoes,  chemicals,  illuminating  oil,  and  condensed 
milk. 

The  chief  city  is  Seoul,  the  capital,  which  lies  in  the  interior  con- 
nected by  rail  with  the  port  of  Chemulpo  on  the  western  frontage. 
It  is  also  the  principal  city  on  the  railway  line  which  extends  through 
the  entire  length  of  the  peninsula  from  the  port  of  Fusan  at  the  south 
to  Antung,  a  point  at  which  the  railway  passes  into  China  at  the  north- 
western boundary  of  Chosen.  Fusan  is  a  port  of  very  considerable 
importance,  especially  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  traffic  between  the 
railroad  systems  of  Japan  and  the  peninsula  enters  or  leaves  Chosen 
at  this  port.  The  extreme  northeastern  point  of  Chosen  lies  within 
less  than  100  miles  of  Vladivostok. 


[65] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


Eastern  Siberia 

THIS  discussion  of  the  trade  of  the  Far  East  would  not  be  com- 
plete without  a  reference  to  that  section  of  Eastern  Siberia  now 
designated  the  Far  Eastern  Republic,  which  includes  the  Siberian 
provinces  of  Trans-Baikal,  lying  immediately  east  of  Lake  Baikal; 
Amur,  which  lies  just  east  of  Trans-Baikal  and  north  of  the  Amur 
River;  and  the  Maritime  Province,  which  lies  east  of  Amur  and, 
fronting  on  the  Pacific,  stretches  northward  from  Vladivostok 
along  the  eastern  frontage  of  Siberia.  The  section  thus  includes 
the  Trans-Siberian  railway,  running  eastwardly  from  Lake  Baikal 
through  these  provinces  to  Vladivostok,  as  well  as  the  Amur  River, 
which  is  navigable  for  steam  craft  of  light  draught  a  distance  of  1,600 
miles  from  the  Pacific  frontage.  The  fact  that  the  section  includes  the 
great  port  of  Vladivostok,  rail  and  river  transportation,  a  fertile  soil, 
and  about  2,000,000  industrious  people,  suggests  for  an  important 
industrial  and  commercial  future. 

Russia's  imports  from  her  Asiatic  frontage,  chiefly  through  Vladi- 
vostok, averaged  about  $70,000,000  a  year  prior  to  the  war,  but  were 
running  at  the  rate  of  $500,000,000  per  annum  at  the  termination  ot 
her  participation  in  the  war,  and  while  but  little,  if  any,  of  this  origi- 
nated in  the  area  now  under  discussion,  the  fact  that  it  was  originally 
landed  in  Vladivostok  and  transported  by  the  railway  line,  suggests 
great  possibilities,  industrially,  commercially,  and  financially. 

Vladivostok,  the  chief  port  of  the  Far  Eastern  Republic,  is  of 
especial  importance  by  reason  of  its  being  the  Pacific  coast  terminus 
of  the  great  Trans-Siberian  railway  and  also  by  reason  of  its  excellent 
harbor  and  port  facilities.  It  stands  on  the  Bay  of  Peter  the  Great  with 
a  spacious  harbor,  ice-free  for  nine  months  of  the  year,  while  its 
position  as  eastern  terminus  of  the  Trans-Siberian  railway  adds 
greatly  to  its  importance,  and  in  recent  years  steamship  communica- 
tion with  northern  Siberian  ports  have  been  established.  It  has  a  popu- 
lation of  about  100,000,  natives  of  Siberia,  Russians,  Chinese,  Japan- 
ese and  Koreans. 

Very  large  quantities  of  merchandise  intended  for  use  in  European 
Russia  were  landed  at  this  port  during  the  war  and  very  considerable 
quantities  since  the  war  for  transportation  by  the  Trans-Siberian  road. 
The  United  States  alone  exported  to  "Asiatic  Russia"  $300,000,000 
worth  of  merchandise  during  Russia's  participation  in  the  war,  most 
of  it  entering  at  the  port  of  Vladivostok,  to  say  nothing  of  the  large 

[66] 


GENERAL  SURVEY EASTERN    SIBERIA 


quantities  also  entering  that  port  from  other  countries,  especially 
Japan;  while  our  exports  to  Asiatic  Russia  declined  to  about  $8,000,- 
ooo  in  the  year  following  the  termination  of  Russia's  participation  in 
the  war,  but  again  advanced  to  $55,000,000  in  the  calendar  year  1919, 
which  was  marked  by  military  activities  in  the  area  served  by  the 
Trans-Siberian  road  and  through  the  port  of  Vladivostok. 

In  the  opening  months  of  1920,  however,  following  the  termination 
of  the  1919  military  activities  of  that  section,  the  exports  to  Vladi- 
vostok from  the  United  States  dropped  to  the  approximately  normal 
figure  of  about  $1,000,000  per  month.  Vladivostok,  as  noted  in  the 
paragraph  which  relates  to  Chosen,  is  within  less  than  100  miles  of  the 
northeastern  corner  of  Chosen  and  connected  by  steamship  lines  with 
the  ports  of  Chosen,  Japan,  China,  and  thence  across  the  Pacific  to 
western  ports  of  the  United  States.  The  distance  from  New  York  to 
Vladivostok  is  10,000  miles  by  way  of  Panama  and  8,000  miles  by  way 
of  San  Francisco.  Very  recent  reports  indicate  that  Japan,  now  in 
military  control  of  Vladivostok  and  adjacent  territory,  is  planning 
to  establish  a  new  port  immediately  south  of  Vladivostok  at  a  point 
reported  as  free  from  ice  at  all  seasons  of  the  year. 


[67] 


aa 

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a 


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£ 

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I 


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[68] 


H 


STATISTICAL  RESUME 


Trade  of  the  United  States  with  the  Far  East 
1910  TO  1920  (FISCAL  YEAR) 


JAPAN 


HONGKONG 


IMPORTS  INTO 

EXPORTS  FROM 

IMPORTS  INTO 

EXPORTS  FROM 

VEAR 

U.  S.  FROM 

U.  S.  TO 

YEAR 

U.  S.  FROM 

U.  S.  TO 

1910 

*66,398,76l 

$21,959,310 

I9IO 

2»33I,773 

6,467,165 

I9II 

78,527,496 

36,721,409 

I9II 

2,718,315 

7,756,138 

1912 

80,607,469 

53,478,046 

1912 

3,114,691 

I0»333,543 

1913 

91,633,240 

57,741,615 

»9*3 

4,019,532 

10,431,049 

I9U 

'07,355,897 

51,205,520 

1914 

3,085,840 

10,696,214 

1915 

98,882,638 

41,517,780 

1915 

2,044,589 

8,185,315 

1916 

147,644,228 

74,470,931 

1916 

5,401,174 

12,008,975 

1917 

208,127,478 

130,427,061 

1917 

7,512,396 

14,224,275 

1918 

284,945,439 

267,641,212 

1918 

18,086,274 

20,275,638 

J9I9 

303>993,04i 

326,462,269 

1919 

26,066,355 

24,721,067 

1920 

527,220,867 

453,H7,°63 

1920 

36,824,623 

22,511,916 

CHINA 

STRAITS  SETTLEMENTS 

IMPORTS  INTO 

EXPORTS  FROM 

IMPORTS  INTO 

EXPORTS  FROM 

YEAR 

U.  S.  FROM 

U.  S.  TO 

YEAR 

U.  S.  FROM 

U.  S.  TO 

1910 

29,990>37o 

l6,32C,6l2 

I9IO 

18,654,702 

1,709,045 

1911 

34,227,503 

19,287,836 

I9II 

19,958,513 

2,143,242 

1912 

29,573,732 

24,361,199 

1912 

22,493,645 

2,735,746 

i9'3 

39,010,800 

21,326,834 

1913 

35,712,185 

3,606,901 

1914 

39,382,978 

24,698,734 

1914 

26,307,860 

4,184,674 

1915 

40,156,139 

16,402,475 

1915 

24,989,878 

3,845,765 

1916 

71,655,045 

*5,I3M59 

1916 

82,114,598 

4,583,318 

1917 

'05,905,53! 

37,195,608 

1917 

89,984,946 

7,734,439 

1918 

116,644,981 

43,476,623 

I9l8 

159,188,127 

8,810,297 

1919 

105,762,859 

82,992,495 

I9I9 

137,576,918 

12,200,452 

1920 

226,887,848 

119,143,824 

1920 

188,282,632 

14,874,690 

CHOSEN 

BRITISH  INDIA 

IMPORTS  INTO 

EXPORTS  FROM 

IMPORTS  INTO 

EXPORTS  FROM 

YEAR 

U.  S.  FROM 

U.  S.  TO 

YEAR 

U.  S.  FROM 

U.  S.  TO 

I9IO 

$   20,176 

$  442,066 

1910 

$45,300,268 

$   7,581,233 

igiT 

245,55! 

1,144,583 

I9II 

43,952,047 

9,414,203 

1912 

193,228 

1,123,159 

1912 

50,948,901 

15,628,059 

!9*3 

5,*33 

1,370,926 

-    1913 

67,949,259 

II,040,039 

1914 

8,121 

1,266,263 

I9H 

73,620,880 

10,854,591 

1915 

8,753 

1,188,444 

1915 

51,982,703 

11,696,094 

I9l6 

64*87 

675»454 

I9l6 

71,745,626 

19,297,016 

1917 

301,223 

2,083,314 

1917 

102,106,682 

28,373,145 

1918 

10,082 

1,068,735 

1918 

105,277,743 

42,395,622 

1919 

298,973 

3,4"  >37i 

1919 

125,471,468 

50,501,740 

I92O 

241,156 

3,172,042 

I92O 

1  78,95!,  533 

79,U3,036 

[69] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


Trade  of  the  United  States  with  Far  East— Cont. 
1910  TO  1920  (FISCAL  YEAR) 


RUSSIA-ASIATIC 


FRENCH  EAST  INDIES 


IMPORTS  INTO 

EXPORTS  FROM 

IMPORTS  INTO 

EXPORTS  FROM 

YEAR 

U.  S.  FROM 

U.  S.  TO 

YEAR 

U.  S.  FROM 

U.  S.  TO 

IQIO 

I,l8l,058 

1,039,881 

IQIO 

174,882 

y 
1911 

1,199,298 

1,179,782 

*y*.\S 
I9II 

87 

*   /^>WU^ 

255,944 

1912 

1,443,577 

1,206,828 

1912 

4,589 

140,180 

IQIT 

2,356,527 

1,101.410 

IQI1 

484,881 

y  -j 
IQI4 

2,488,973 

>        ,t   y 
I,2I4,Co6 

"   O 
IQI4 

161,234 

y  T* 
IQI  r 

881.6(0 

>          *T>J 

a^.'K'j.ifi 

*y  *  *r 
IQI  C 

18  QII 

iyij 
1916 

u     >  jy 

2,302,858 

«J>.J  JO>     J 

131,111,792 

*y*  j 
1916 

60,030 

i  u,y  x  * 

17,235 

1917 

4,018,169 

130,300,542 

1917 



117,060 

1918 

3,649,663 

34,718,541 

I9l8 

332 

316,790 

1919 

2,736,841 

4i  ,45  5,457 

1919 

492,950 

1,368,923 

1920 

12,399,883 

31,572,088 

1920 

3,402,214 

2,086,609 

DUTCH  EAST  INDIES 

SIAM 

IMPORTS  INTO 

EXPORTS  FROM 

IMPORTS  INTO 

EXPORTS  FROM 

YEAR 

U.  S.  FROM 

U.  S.  TO 

YEAR 

U.  S.  FROM 

U.  S.  TO 

1910 

10,651,935 

2,24t,225 

1910 

125,882 

286,200 

I9II 

9>934,l63 

3>2I3,598 

I9II 

75,3°6 

370,348 

1912 

13,825,506 

3,209,067 

1912 

85,166 

428,035 

J9'3 

6,221,954 

3,151,693 

19*3 

116,565 

485,058 

1914 

5,334,361 

3,676,895 

1914 

146,545 

836,870 

1915 

9,245,784 

2,77!  ,779 

T9I5 

242,391 

619,707 

1916 

27,716,589 

7,401,026 

1916 

237,250 

774,956 

1917 

62,011,236 

21,194,275 

1917 

109,442 

1,127,709 

1918 

79,3*  4,^33 

I9,777,5°4 

I9l8 

156,981 

1,148,484 

1919 

71,036,606 

44,845,561 

1919 

173,231 

2,113,851 

1920 

95,801,266 

45,647,245 

1920 

337,95° 

i>45°,479 

PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS 


IMPORTS  INTO 

EXPORTS  FROM 

YEAR 

U.  S.  FROM 

U.  S.  TO 

1910 

17,317,897 

16,832,645 

I9II 

17,400,398 

I9,723,II3 

1912 

23,257,!  99 

23,736,133 

1913 

21,010,248 

25>384,793 

1914 

l8,l62,3I2 

27,304,587 

1915 

24,020,169 

24,755,320 

I9l6 

28,232,249 

23,421,172 

1917 

42,436,247 

27,206,612 

1918 

78,101,412 

48,425,088 

I9I9 

82,490,760 

69,291  ,477 

1920 

72,962,140 

71,009,094 

[70] 


STATISTICAL  RESUME 


Principal  Articles  Forming  the  Trade  of  the 
United  States  with  the  Far  Eastern  Countries 

PRINCIPAL  IMPORTS  INTO  UNITED  STATES  FROM  JAPAN 


FISCAL  YEAR  1918 

CALENDAR  YEAR  1919 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

Silk  raw               

.   Ibs. 

28,645,529 

4,337»76° 
15,430,505 
62,009,763 
126,421,422 
4,337»695 

$153,740,623 
3,999,424 

i,  91  7.454 
2,547,945 
4,266,151 
2,018,306 
2,211,072 

6,93°,654 
8,255,001 
1,494,131 
9>5II»283 

33,726,581 
3,540,000 
2,954,000 
27,851,000 
1,051,000 
2,405,000 

$256,113,971 
5,223,000 
159,000 
2,144,000 

66,000 
4,304,000 
1,827,000 
1,845,000 
10,517,303 

102,000 
10,219,053 

Silk  waste        

.   Ibs. 

Antimony,  Matte,  Regulus   . 

.  Ibs. 
.  Ibs. 

Rice,  cleaned    
Camphor,  crude  and  refined  . 

.  Ibs. 
.  Ibs. 

Oils   cocoanut      .    .        ... 

.   Ibs. 

59,256,558 
86,830,583 
21,806,975 
52,996,471 

14,903,000 
84,218,232 
1,463,000 
39»959»9l6 

Ibs 

Starch   

.   Ibs. 

Tea    

.  Ibs. 

PRINCIPAL  EXPORTS  FROM  UNITED  STATES  TO  JAPAN 


FISCAL  YEAR  1918 

CALENDAR  YEAR  1919 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

bales 
.    no. 
.  Ibs. 
.  Ibs. 
irslbs. 

!  Ibs. 

575,882 

2,i39 
21,223,690 
65,532,922 
475,3'  7,447 

$86,903,734 
2,040,897 
1,095,431 

3>I73>°36 
25,735,399 
1,249,660 

754,700 

i,935,I09 
1,141,897 

3,396,619 
6,653,272 
1,441,504 
30,356,176 
10,045,768 
5,801,081 
10,478,686 
904,287 
1,585,114 
1,587,722 

3,385>45o 

873,395 
2,805 
25,287,000 
71,858,000 
328,880,000 

$149,716,218 
2,890,000 
1,067,000 
2,731,000 
II,2l8,000 

5,383,184 
1,815,063 
1,804,514 
166,685 
3,877,656 
9,621,479 
1,237,000 

1  9,657,459 
5,H2>462 
4,360,251 
8,380,04! 
647,936 
3,258,157 
I>335,98l 
3,360,423 

Automobile,  passenger   .    .    . 
Iron  and  steel,  bar  iron  .    .    . 
Iron  and  steel,  wire  rods    .    . 
Iron  and  steel,  all  other  steel  b« 
Metal-working  machinery  .    . 
Sewing  Machines     

36,381,442 
24,905,861 
46,921,198 
106,940 
17,465,171 
359,416,978 
115,276,790 
42,562 
80,687,859 
6,192,196 
16,442,427 
6,378,988 
53,8  17,137 

36,324,064 
2,715,786 
57,926,988 
152,997 
21,637,000 
545,851,094 

85,385,782 
49,920 
101,839,517 
4,123,127 
31,699,727 
4,164,707 
59,583,379 

Cast  pipes  and  fittings  .    .    . 
Wrought  pipes  and  fittings   . 
Rails  of  steel           

.  Ibs. 
.  Ibs. 
.  tons 

Iron  sheets  and  plates    .    .    . 

.  Ibs. 
.  Ibs. 

.  Ibs. 

Structural  iron  and  steel    .    . 
Tin  plates                           •    • 

.  tons 
.  Ibs. 

Condensed  milk          .... 

.  Ibs. 

Oil   illuminating        

gals, 
gals. 
.  Ibs. 

Wire                  

[71] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


Principal  Articles  Forming  the  Trade  of  the 
United  States  with  the  Far  Eastern  Countries — Cont. 


PRINCIPAL  IMPORTS  INTO  UNITED  STATES  FROM  STRAITS  SETTLEMENTS 


QUANTITY 

VALUE 

Farinaceous  substances  (sago,  tapioca,  etc)  

$   2,27  C  76T 

Gums  (copal  kauri  and  damar) 

Ibs 

IO  7O7  AAA 

Gums  (cambier  or  terra  japonica) 

Ibs 

6  08  124. 

°5/j4yi 

Cocoanut  meat,  broken,  not  shredded 

Ibs 

17  OTQ  Q4.C 

I  O24.  O27 

Cocoanut  meat,  shredded                .                           . 

Ibs 

I   1OO  1  1  6 

117  086 

Hides  and  skins  (except  fur  skins) 

161  071 

India-rubber  (gutta-joolatong)  unmfr  
India  rubber,  unmanufactured    .                           . 

.  Ibs. 
Ibs 

12,847,916 

221,780  87O 

73*  >73o 

117  OOI  I  2O 

Spices  pepper,  unground     .                           . 

Ibs 

I7,c8c  7oc 

2  787  278 

Tin  bars  blocks,  pigs      

Ibs 

<6,i88.oic 

2Q  11A.  77Q 

Rattans  and  reeds             .... 

Ibs. 

I   Co8  712 

FISCAL  YEAR  1918 


PRINCIPAL  EXPORTS  FROM  UNITED  STATES  TO  STRAITS  SETTLEMENTS 


QUANTITY 

VALUE 

Bars  or  rods  of  steel     

....   Ibs. 

r.qf  7,04.  c 

*     127.I4.C 

Iron  and  steel,  hoop,  band  and  scroll    .    .    .    . 

.    .    .  Ibs. 

7,111*106 

72Q,  C2T 

Wire  nails               

....  Ibs. 

c  .8  1  0,200 

112,274. 

Tin  plates,  terneplates,  etc  

....  Ibs. 

IOV772,QIQ 

O4.7,76l 

Barbed  wire   

.    .    .       Ibs. 

1  ,06  C,  74.6 

IO2,7<8 

All  other  wire    

....  Ibs. 

1,727,  C77 

110,788 

Milk  condensed  and  evaporated    

....  Ibs. 

Q%Q82,26o 

1,641,809 

Cigarettes  

.   .   .   .     M 

777,O2A 

i,oc6,<o'i 

FISCAL  YEAR  1918 


[72] 


STATISTICAL  RESUME 


Principal  Articles  Forming  the  Trade  of  the 
United  States  with  the  Far  Eastern  Countries — Cont. 

PRINCIPAL  IMPORTS  INTO  THE  UNITED  STATES  FROM  CHINA 


FISCAL  YEAR  1918 

CALENDAR  YEAR  1919 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

Antimony,  Matte,  Regulus,  etc. 
Rice  cleaned       

Ibs. 
Ibs. 
Ibs. 
Ibs. 
Ibs. 
Ibs. 
Ibs. 
Ibs. 
Ibs. 
Ibs. 

11,352,167 

U5,273,999 
16,865,955 
2,856,776 
21,899,516 
6,180,480 

3.569.978 
13,226,755 
24,432,434 
21,082,866 

$    1,328,868 
3,950,504 
464,614 

2,555,73° 
5,304,448 
29,216,586 
2,568,026 
4,160,050 
7,205,509 
4>36i  .537 

7,848,000 

$       460,000 

Rice  flour,  meal  and  broken  rice 
Bristles,  sorted,  bunched,  etc    . 
Cotton,  unmanufactured  .    .    . 
Silk,  raw 

2,721,000 
8,950,709 
9,099,492 

no  data 
9,366,219 
28,996,327 
I0,557,985 

2,8l8,000 
2,224,247 

54,475,749 
no  data 

3,189,384 
9,438,906 
2,730,103 

Silk  waste           . 

Wool,  class  I,  clothing  (free)     . 
Wool,  class  3,  carpet  (free)    .    . 
Tea    

PRINCIPAL  EXPORTS  FROM  THE  UNITED  STATES  TO  CHINA 


FISCAL  YEAR  1918 

CALENDAR  YEAR  1919 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

Cotton  cloths,  bleached 
and  unbleached   
Steam  locomotives  ..... 
Wire  nails 

.yds. 
.    no. 
Ibs 

6,965,548 

22 
20,607,294 
6,150,629 
18,872,498 

7»9I3,894 
14,302,220 
3,666,776 
40,642,901 
2,828,562 
7,9  59,3  12 
5,393,37! 
2,186,998 

$        941,108 
292,475 
1,068,822 
46l,OIO 

i  ,486,21  6 
660,223 
1,428,545 
575,120 
2,881,733 
564,844 

2,584,73! 
9,339,526 
600,643 

26,716,853 
48 
20,255,210 
7,698,426 
47,440,865 

8,035,299 
37,966,278 

5,555,679 
164,366,046 

5»503,2i3 
14,558,402 
6,191,765 
5,814,196 

$  4,406,921 
2,406,692 

943,077 
665,129 

1,730,092 
448,812 

3,021,392 
800,445 
16,669,857 
1,444,852 
6,328,365 
10,112,682 
1,786,276 

Pipes  and  fittings    

.  Ibs 

Steel  plates          .    .           .   . 

.  Ibs. 

Steel  sheets  

.  Ibs. 

Tin  plates,  terneplates,  etc.  . 
Milk,  condensed  and  evaporatt 
Oil  illuminating 

.  Ibs. 
:d  Ibs. 
gals, 
gals. 
.  Ibs. 

Oil,  lubricating 

Tobacco,  leaf 

Cigarettes     

.    M. 

Cotton,  raw     ....... 

.  Ibs. 

[73] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


Principal  Articles  Forming  the  Trade  of  the 
United  States  with  the  Far  Eastern  Countries — Cont. 


PRINCIPAL  IMPORTS  INTO  UNITED  STATES  FROM  HONGKONG 


QUANTITY 

VALUE 

Rice,  cleaned     

Ibs 

Q2  4.4.O.4.Q7 

*o  112  6l8 

Rice  flour,  broken  rice      

Ibs 

<2i  TQ4,,767 

111  T?8 

Art  works   

CI  O4.C 

Beads  and  bead  ornaments      

I  8,IQ7 

Farinaceous  substances  (sago,  tapioca,  etc.)     .    . 

C7.6q2 

Bristles,  sorted,  bunched  or  prepared    

.    .    .  Ibs. 

i6a,ocT 

276,  C?6 

Chemicals,  drugs,  dyes     

I  "3Q,674. 

China,  porcelain  (decorated)  

86.QQ4 

Feathers  and  downs,  not  dressed   

i2C,866 

Fibers  and  textile  grasses  (unmanufactured)    .    . 
Peanuts,  shelled    

.    .    .  tons 
.    .    .   Ibs. 

1,054 

7.OIO,  C2O 

376,067 

coo/768 

Tin-bars,  blocks,  pigs,  etc  

.    .    .   Ibs. 

M»{21«8?2 

7,760,260 

FISCAL  YEAR  1918 


PRINCIPAL  EXPORTS  FROM  UNITED  STATES  TO  HONGKONG 


QUANTITY 

VALUE 

Bars  or  rods  of  steel                                                             Ibs 

IA   07  f  82< 

Jr  812  718 

Iron  and  steel  wire  nails                                                       Ibs 

IO  O2O  CC2 

C78  212 

Steel  plates                                                                              Ibs 

OQ  2C2  84.0 

2  6c8  264. 

Tin  plates   terneplates,  etc                                                    Ibs 

21  l82  CC2 

2  2o6  662 

Milk,  condensed  and  evaporated        .                                  Ibs 

5r  I  p  1  1  A 

8cc,2i6 

Oil,  illuminating            ...           .                                Sak> 

8  OC4.  286 

<88,icK 

Tobacco,  leaf         .                   ....                              Ibs 

C  277  66c 

I  00,776 

FISCAL  YEAR  1918 


[74] 


STATISTICAL  RESUME 


Principal  Articles  Forming  the  Trade  of  the 
United  States  with  the  Far  Eastern  Countries — Cont. 

PRINCIPAL  IMPORTS  INTO  UNITED  STATES  FROM  DUTCH  EAST  INDIES 


FISCAL  YEAR  1918 

CALENDAR  YEAR  1919 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

Coffee                       

.  Ibs. 

4,687,538 
8,664 
53,663,857 
39,422,251 
17,680,196 
23,261,863 
1,537,046 
1,866,771 
29,623,859 
3,890,236 

45>327,"  7 

*        739,838 
2,420,848 
30,504,525 
5,016,509 
2,674,288 
11,528,237 

949,021 

*,  399,8  57 
5,614,671 
4,400,543 
2,445,362 

56,312,793 
2,268 
61,260,330 
37,451,000 
17,794,000 
5,049,843 

4,76i,533 
1,898,196 
9,611,217 
6,504,615 
13,522,592 

$10,084,109 

666,000 
24,600,493 
4,514,000 
2,739,000 
2>5oo,797 
3,574,1" 
2,722,658 

1,776,834 
9,087,114 
827,544 

Sisal  Grass       

.  tons 

India-rubber     

.  Ibs. 

Cocoanut  oil     

.  Ibs. 

Spices  —  black  or  white  pepper 
Tin,  bars,  blocks,  pigs,  etc    . 
Calfskins 

.  Ibs. 
.  Ibs. 
Ibs 

Hides  and  skins,  goat  skins  . 
Tea                   

.  Ibs. 
.  Ibs. 

Tobacco,  leaf  

.  Ibs. 

Cocoanut  meat    

.  Ibs. 

PRINCIPAL  EXPORTS  FROM  UNITED  STATES  TO  DUTCH  EAST  INDIES 


FISCAL  YEAR  1918 

CALENDAR  YEAR  1919 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

Automobiles,  passenger  .  .  . 
Wire  nails  ........ 

.    no. 
.  Ibs. 

1,272 
12,325,393 
7,459,225 
7,926,834 

5,788,324 
7,258,226 
27,628 

5,377,!  20 

2,701,713 

Jl,  302,800 

578,447 
515,087 
702,297 
400,591 

805,953 
223,092 
635,289 
381,948 

1,820 

12,963,306 
43,008,963 
3,856,163 
11,761,976 
4,866,166 
26,739 

11,870,050 

2,363,923 

$2,377,241 
754,263 
2,796,163 
262,953 
728,374 

445,7*3 
459,998 
2,165,567 
630,164 

Wrought  pipes  and  fittings  . 
Galv.  iron  and  steel  sheets  . 
Steel  sheets  

.   Ibs. 
.  Ibs. 
.  Ibs. 

Tin  plates,  terneplates,  etc.  . 
Rosin  .  .  . 

.  Ibs. 
bbls 

Oil  illuminating  .... 

.  gals. 

Oil  lubricating  

.gals. 

[75] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


Principal  Articles  Forming  the  Trade  of  the 
United  States  with  the  Far  Eastern  Countries — Cont. 


PRINCIPAL  EXPORTS  FROM  UNITED  STATES  TO  CHOSEN 


FISCAL  YEAR  1918 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

Bars  or  rods  of  steel 

Ibs 

4I5>705 

%     23,603 
14,542 
28,600 
10,336 
20,465 
74,008 
323,869 

Air  compressing  machines 

Structural  iron  and  steel 

tons 

I56 
22,167 

3,5°° 
531,245 
2,347,650 

Sole  leather    . 

Ibs 

Men's  boots  and  shoes 

nrs 

Milk,  condensed     .    ,    . 

Ibs 

Oils,  illuminating  .       .        . 

gals 

[76] 


STATISTICAL  RESUME 


Principal  Articles  Forming  the  Trade  of  the  ; 
United  States  with  the  Far  Eastern  Countries— Cbnt. 


PRINCIPAL  IMPORTS  INTO  UNITED  STATES  FROM  PHILIPPINES 


FISCAL  YEAR  1918 

QUANTITY                     VALUE 

oz 

1A.  2C6            $         24.88l 

Ibs 

I  OT1.7TQ                        88.C4.7 

...            .      tons 

2,21  C                     804.,!  71 

tons 

86,06  C              7O,T7C,7OO 

India-rubber                  .       

Ibs. 

80,644                      40,698 

Cocoanut  oil       

Ibs. 

I  £4,704,481               l8,22q,  -760 

Cocoanut  meat,  or  copra     

Ibs. 

2ig.CCC.I7I                 QjQ4Q»?8< 

PRINCIPAL  EXPORTS  FROM  UNITED  STATES  TO  PHILIPPINES 


FISCAL  YEAR  1918 

CALENDAR  YEAR  1919 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

Automobiles,  commercial  .  .  . 
Automobiles,  passenger  .  .  . 
Cotton  cloths  

no. 
no. 

yds. 

163 

i,7H 

119,088,720 

$        215,106 

i  ,373,204 
15,452,238 
150,092 
863,725 
93,210 
57,634 
1,057,537 
"5»!55 
394,^03 
495,186 
110,904 
176,252 
773,003 
423,632 
472,036 

475,954 
i,353,I40 
882,056 

516 
2,381 
47,106,893 
no  data 

$  798,540 
2,629,348 

9,535,445 
no  data 
1,342,263 
51,000 
6,000 
830,000 
256,000 
2,822,000 
299,330 
119,121 
790,698 
1,177,344 
290,840 
1,161,948 

55i,54i 
1,892,725 
1,972,663 

India-rubber  auto  tires  .  .  .  . 
Iron  and  steel-bar  iron  .  .  .  . 
Iron  and  steel,  wire  rods  .  .  . 
Iron  and  steel,  all  other  rods  . 
Iron  and  steel,  bolts,  nuts,  etc. 
Sugar  mill  machinery  
Wire  nails  .  

Ibs. 
Ibs. 
Ibs. 
Ibs. 

ibs. 

Ibs. 
Ibs. 
Ibs. 
Ibs. 
pr. 
pr. 
Ibs. 
gals. 

2,265,380 
1,227,814 
19,071,275 
1,282,342 

992,000 
185,000 
20,037,000 
2,739,000 

8,795*495 
2,i3!>955 
2,180,378 
8,863,932 
5,801,214 
159,880 
269,124 
11,566,748 
6,789,710 

5,34M78 
1,884,533 
",235,546 
15,146,299 

5,1  50,39! 
33  i  ,523 
212,831 
14,085,937 
10,890,320 

Cast  pipes  and  fittings  .  .  .  . 
Wrought  pipes  and  fittings  .  . 
Galv.  iron  and  steel  sheets  .  . 
Steel  plates  
Men's  boots  and  shoes  .  .  .  . 
Women's  shoes  

Condensed  milk  

Oils  illuminating 

[77] 


TRADING  WITH  THE  FAR  EAST 


Principal  Articles  Forming  the  Trade  of  the 
United  States  with  the  Far  Eastern  Countries — Cont. 

PRINCIPAL  IMPORTS  INTO  UNITED  STATES  FROM  BRITISH  INDIA 


QUANTITY 

VALUE 

Rice     

Ibs. 

7,010,611 

4        4.04.  680 

Indigo,  natural  

Ibs. 

I,2<TQ,224, 

I  882  662 

Ibs. 

22,710,502 

Q  407  671 

76,8  <8 

7  066,4.60 

Ibs. 

11,  876,06*; 

1,72O,46o 

Ibs. 

411,881,074 

C2,7OC,Q4.8 

Ibs. 

<,7c8,8co 

2,782,122 

Tea  

Ibs. 

I7-OCQ.2CI 

4,240  1  68 

FISCAL  YEAR  1918 


PRINCIPAL  EXPORTS  FROM  UNITED  STATES  TO  BRITISH  INDIA 


FISCAL  YEAR  1918 

CALENDAR  YEAR  1919 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

QUANTITY 

VALUE 

Aniline  dyes  
Automobiles,  passenger  .  .  . 
Automobile  tires 

.   no. 

73 

22,485,880 
18,793,924 

*I,668,692 

53,000 
416,411 

1,239,863 
1,394,826 
462,842 
831,099 
619,261 
1,156,912 
2,172,083 
3,220,339 
1,970,922 
2,989,623 

2,624 

*I,562,000 
2,§92,OOO 

557,000 
2,262,000 
1,425,000 

573>690 
906,270 
4,211,699 
800,777 
1,813,106 
1,212,213 

5,899,56i 
3,126,928 

Rods  of  steel 

Ibs 

60,635,000 
21,850,000 

Iron  and  steel,  hoop,  band,  etc 
Typewriting  machines    .    .    . 
Wire  nails 

.  Ibs. 
Ibs 

14,404,939 

9,548,077 
16,121,938 
22,309,038 
23,012,060 

I9>998,342 
14,770,389 

15,372,290 

6i,594,i37 
18,164,858 
23,623,211 

10,130,675 
56,608,019 
9,376,324 

Wrought  pipes  and  fittings  . 
Iron  and  steel,  steel  plates  . 
Iron  and  steel,  tin  plates,  etc. 
Condensed  milk  .  . 

.  Ibs. 
.  Ibs. 
.  Ibs. 
Ibs 

Oil,  illuminating  . 

.gals. 

sals 

Oil,  lubricating 

[78] 


Facts  for 

CAREFUL  INVESTORS 


o 


We  search  the  world 
for  your  benefit 

HT^HROUGH  our  nation-wide  organiza- 
J.  tion  with  its  world-wide  affiliations,  we 
search  constantly  for  attractive  investment 
opportunities. 

You  can  benefit  from  this  effort.  Our 
research  and  buying  departments, our  trained 
representatives,  our  fifty  offices,  our  ten 
thousand  miles  of  private  wires — all  are  at 
your  service  to  help  you  select  bonds, 
notes  or  preferred  stocks  that  exactly  fit 
your  needs. 

Write  today  for  our  current  purchase 
sheet  where  nearly  a  hundred  such  securi- 
ties are  listed.  Ask  for.SX  143. 

This  corporation  is  engaged  in  the  purchase  and  sale  of  bonds,  short  term  notes,  pre' 
ferred  stocks,  and  other  high-grade  securities.  It  does  not  do  a  banking  business,  but 
its  interests  are  closely  allied  with  those  of  The  National  City  Bank  of  New  York. 

THE  NATIONAL  CITY  COMPANY 


UR  book  "Men and 
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formation on  the  follow- 
ing subjects  will  be  sent 
gladly  on  request. 

Why  we  handle  only  carefully 
investigated  investment  se- 
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The  wisdom  of  purchasing 
securities  from,  a  Company 
large  enough  to  maintain 
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The  importance  of  buying  in- 
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house  with  over  so  offices 
and  international  connec- 
tions and  service. 

Why  the  careful  investor  se- 
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range  of  offerings. 

How  10,000  miles  of  National 
City  Company's  private 
wires  keep  our  offices  in 
leading  investment  centers 
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Your  advantage  in  dealing 
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day. 

Why  these  sales  representa- 
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